Microsoft saw 2 years of digital transformation happen in 2 months: Nadella

As Covid-19 impacts every aspect of work and life, Microsoft has seen two years' worth of digital transformation in just two months of its third quarter (January-March period), said Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella during an earnings call on Wednesday.

The company on Wednesday beat Wall Street sales and profit expectations, powered by sharp demand for its Teams chat and online meeting app and Xbox gaming services as the world shifted to working and playing from home because of the novel coronavirus pandemic.

“From remote teamwork and learning to sales and customer service to critical cloud infrastructure and security, we are working alongside customers every day to help them stay open for business in a world of remote everything,” said Nadella.

As new work norms evolve, organisations are realising they need a comprehensive solution that brings together communications, collaboration and business process, built on a foundation of security and privacy.

'More broadly, we continue to see momentum with organisations across Microsoft 365. Office 365 now has 258 million paid seats. Usage of Windows virtual desktop tripled this quarter as organisations deploy virtual desktops and apps on Azure to enable secure remote work,' informed Nadella.

Microsoft 365 Personal and Family now has more than 39 million subscribers.

“Windows 10 now has more than 1 billion monthly active devices, up 30 per cent year-over-year, and we are seeing demand for Windows 10 PCs from small screens to large screens to dual screens,” the Microsoft CEO added.

For over a decade, developers have come together remotely on Microsoft-owned open source repository GitHub to build the world's software.

'As of today, we have 50 million developers on GitHub,' said Nadella.

Developers are collaborating on mission-critical projects from tracking the spread of Covid-19 to implementing contact tracing to helping expand access to personal protective equipment.

'We are bringing GitHub to even more developers, making core features free for the first time for teams of any size,' he added.

Amid the changing jobs market, LinkedIn's role in creating economic opportunity for every member of the global workforce has never been more acute, according to Microsoft.

'LinkedIn is where more than 690 million professionals go to connect, learn new skills and find new opportunities, contributing to record levels of engagement across the platform in Q3,' said Nadella.

Professionals watched nearly four million hours of content on LinkedIn Learning in March, a nearly 50 per cent increase month-over-month.

'With LinkedIn Live, people and organizations can broadcast video content to their networks in real time. Streams are up 158 per cent since February,' he informed.

Microsoft saw all-time record gaming engagement in its third quarter, with nearly 19 million active users of Xbox Live, led by the strength on and off-console.

“Xbox Game Pass has more than 10 million subscribers, and we are seeing increased monetisation of in-game content and services. And our Project xCloud gaming service now has hundreds of thousands of users in preview across 7 countries, with 8 more launching in the coming weeks,” Nadella added.

While Microsoft results beat expectations, some analysts believe that the company also missed opportunities where demand is huge. Moor Insights & Strategy analyst Patrick Moorhead said, "The biggest missed opportunity was in Surface; the channel inventory was depleted, and supply chain constraints reduced finished goods output. I believe the company could have easily sold 15-20% more if available."