Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) has unveiled new technologies that enable its cloud computing services to work in data centers that the company does not own – including the cloud data centers of its rivals.
The strategy has been key to Microsoft’s rise in the cloud computing infrastructure market, which research firm Gartner estimates hit $64.3 billion U.S. and where Microsoft is second only to market leader Amazon Web Services (NASDAQ:AMZN).
Microsoft last week said revenue from Azure, its flagship cloud offering, grew 48% in its most recent quarter, results that helped it overtake Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) to become the world’s most valuable publicly traded company.
Microsoft’s strategy has involved constructing its most lucrative cloud software services, such as database tools, so that they can run inside its own data centers, those owned by customers or even those of rivals such as Amazon.
Microsoft’s said its new technology has persuaded some customers to use its services when they cannot always use Microsoft’s data centers.
Royal Bank of Canada (TSX:RY), for example, faces legal requirements to keep some of its computing work in its own data centers and uses a technology called Azure Arc to connect those facilities to Microsoft’s cloud.