Business News

SAN FRANCISCO, July 21 (APP/AFP) – Microsoft
on Thursday reported that its quarterly profit climbed to $6.5 billion, lifted by its shift to computing services hosted in the internet cloud.
The US technology giant said revenue in the recently ended quarter
rose to $23.3 billion, with $7.4 billion of that due to its “intelligent cloud” offerings.
“Innovation across our cloud platforms drove strong results this
quarter,” Microsoft chief executive Satya Nadella said in a release.
“Customers are looking to Microsoft and our thriving partner
ecosystem to accelerate their own digital transformations and to unlock new opportunity in this era of intelligent cloud and intelligent edge.”
Intelligent cloud is how Microsoft refers to services that let
businesses take advantage of computing power online in its data centers coupled with insights or analysis by artificial intelligence software.
Microsoft also said that cloud-based products such as Office 365 rose
in the quarter, with the number of Office 365 subscribers climbing to 27 million.
The quarterly profit figure topped Wall Street expectations, while
the revenue was roughly in line. Microsoft shares were up just over a percent to $75.05 in after-market trades that followed release of the earnings report.
Microsoft said early this month that it was cutting an unspecified
number of jobs amid reports the US tech giant was reorganizing its global sales operations.
The pioneering software firm had more than 121,000 employees
worldwide at the end of March, according to its website.
It is seeking to be a first port-of-call for businesses relying on
cloud computing, as the industry moves away from packaged software.
Microsoft’s cloud platform, called Azure, faces competition from
technology powerhouses Amazon and Google.
Each of the companies has also been investing in artificial
intelligence which can make services hosted in the internet cloud more intuitive and insightful when it comes to handling data or catering to needs of users.
Analysts were keen to learn more about the latest job cutting plan
during an earnings call on Thursday.
Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft has announced thousands of jobs
cuts in recent years, the most severe being 18,000 positions eliminated in 2014 related to its acquisition of Nokia and failed efforts in the smartphone market.