Microsoft beat analysts expectations with its quarterly results, with particularly good news coming from the cloud front, according to Bloomberg.
Overall the company reported revenue of $36.9 billion, a 14% increase over last year. Operating income was $13.9 billion, representing an increase of 35% and net income was $11.6 billion.
One of the big takeaways, however, was the impact Microsoft’s Azure business had on the company. Azure’s revenue grew 62% over last year. According to AP News, “Goldman Sachs analyst Heather Bellini said in a note to investors Wednesday that Microsoft’s Azure cloud computing business has been growing faster than the broader cloud market.”
This substantiates earlier reports that Microsoft is making significant headway against AWS in the cloud wars, with a far greater percentage of companies planning on deploying Azure than either AWS or Google Cloud.
It also seems that securing the Pentagon’s JEDI contract is having the desired ‘halo effect.’ According to AP News, “Mizuho analyst Gregg Moskowitz said in a note that the JEDI cloud contract was a game-changer for Microsoft that goes beyond its likely $10 billion in revenue over the next decade. He said it could also serve as a template leading to broader adoption by other government agencies and business customers.”
Despite AWS’ commanding lead in the cloud market, it no longer seems a stretch that Microsoft could soon take the lead from AWS.