Microsoft: Companies aren’t holding back on cloud spending

One of Microsoft’s most senior cloud executives claims he has “not seen organizations slow their efforts to move software programs to the cloud in the past few months”.

Scott Guthrie, who serves as EVP of Microsoft’s Cloud and AI division, told CNBC that he’s not “seen the current situation cause people to pause cloud”.

Customers buying more public cloud services will almost certainly be a spot of good fortune for Microsoft’s cloud hosting operation; 80% of enterprises are already using Microsoft Azure in some form, according to Flexera’s latest State of the Cloud report (opens in new tab).

What’s driving adoption?

Guthrie said that the steep rise in energy costs may be pushing people towards cloud computing, in the same way that the initial onset of the pandemic and the move towards hybrid working did. 

“Are we seeing people accelerate to the cloud because of the energy crisis? I think the answer is definitely yes,” he told CNBC.

“If you think about the current situation in Europe right now, where the energy prices are going up dramatically, if you can reduce your workloads on-prem, and you can move it to our cloud quickly, you can reduce the power draw you need and that translates into real economic savings.” 

Guthrie certainly isn’t the only Microsoft executive who seems to be pretty confident in the future of Azure. Microsoft’s finance chief, Amy Hood, told analysts to expect Azure’s revenue to grow a healthy 43% in constant currency during the second quarter 2022.

And it’s not just Microsoft that is taking an optimistic view on how energy costs will impact the future of IT pending. 

Spiceworks Ziff Davis’ 2023 State of IT report (opens in new tab) found that 51% of the companies said that they would increase their IT budgets in 2023, despite 83% saying they are concerned about a potential recession in the next year, highlighting energy costs as one of the reasons for this.

• Looking to move away from on-prem solutions to save energy? Check out our guide to the best cloud storage

Via CNBC (opens in new tab)