Microsoft is a key player in the technology sector. They have been providing the public with personal computers since 1990, and commercially for close to five decades.
Sega Sammy Holdings is pairing up with Microsoft Corp in 2022 in order to develop bigger titles on Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform. Azure has been gaining traction with the surge of users driven by the global pandemic’s push for remote work and learning. Cloud services have become widely adopted out of necessity, and corporations like Microsoft, Alphabet, and even Amazon, are capitalizing on the demand.
Cloud computing is an on-going transformation that will continue to alter the landscape of digitization. Much like the hubbub regarding search engine optimization, which was what every company and micro-blogger was scrambling to understand and pushing them to learn more about local SEO companies, it is something that is more than just a trend. It is a step forward in how the global economy works.
Azure cloud computing is up by 50% since the pandemic, and the company’s risky investments are beginning to pay off. This can be seen as a bid to take on Sony’s PlayStation by providing cross-platform subscription services that run on the cloud. Their alliance with Sega has increased the Japanese game-making company’s shares as much as 6%.
“By working with Microsoft to anticipate such trends as they accelerate further in future, the goal is to optimize development processes and continue to bring high-quality experiences to players using Azure cloud technologies,” Sega said.
The game-making company which is behind the likes of “Yakuza”, “Football Manager”, and “Sonic the Hedgehog”, a global success, has abandoned its own console after failing to keep up with burgeoning competition and is hoping to break into a higher dimension by pairing up with Microsoft.
This is not the first time the two corporations have joined forces. They have a long history or partnership and have collaboratively released “Persona” and “Total War”, giving gamers and investors the hope that this new partnership is the start of something glorious, especially since cloud computing is making such a powerful impression on the market at the moment.
Microsoft executives confidently reported that they are expecting a midpoint of $14.83 billion in revenue for the fiscal third quarter, based on the trends of their “Intelligent Cloud” segment, which exceeds Wall Street expectations of $14.12 billion. They also went on to predict that productivity and personal computing segments will generate $13.48 billion and $12.50 billion respectively.
These numbers don’t just come from pure confidence. Microsoft’s GamePass, a subscription service for gamers that are capped at $10 per month, already has 18 million users, which is up 3 million in just two months. According to their representative, the Xbox Live online gaming service has more than 100 million monthly active users, with the mobile version used by 60 million daily users.
With current trends predicting an upsurge in both gamers and smartphone users, Microsoft has been focused on producing better Xbox consoles with great success, despite shortages. Sales were up 86%, with older models also continuing to contribute to their sales, which hit a high $5 billion in quarterly sales, setting a new record. This was all made possible by a myriad of products that the company offers: gaming subscriptions and new consoles.
“Demand still outpaces supply, and we do expect that to continue,” Microsoft Chief Financial Officer Amy Hood told Reuters in an interview. “The team did a nice job of getting consoles, both of this newest generation as well as continuing to sell the older generation, which provides a great value for gamers.”
The corporation is also looking towards commercial sales rather than just focusing on the consumer end of things, which is one of the reasons why they continue to stand out in the industry. By feeding into both corporate and commercial uses, Microsoft is staying ahead of their game with releases that pair nicely with the new cultures of remote working such as Teams and Windows Virtual Desktop.
At the moment, Microsoft’s foray into bigger things means that they are offering several bundles of software which are primed for commercial use in order to gauge how well it will do if they do progress into selling to corporations rather than focusing on just the end user. According to reports, the commercial cloud grossed as 71%, compared to 67% which was reported in the year prior.
Being a strategic player in the game ensures that Microsoft and their growth continues in a linear manner, with no dips and unexpected turns. In the coming years, we should be looking to see where Microsoft turns its attention to because it seems that the corporate giant can do no wrong. From software to gaming to cloud integration, their investments have always paid off several times over.
