Microsoft Azure revenues climb 50% as cloud demand continues

Microsoft brought in revenues of $43.1 billion for the second quarter of fiscal 2021, a 17% year-on-year increase that was fueled by businesses' continued demand for cloud services.

The company reported that Office commercial products and cloud service revenues increased by 11%, with Office 365 commercial revenue up 21% and Microsoft 365 consumer subscriptions increasing from 45.3 million to 47.5 million.

Microsoft has reported impressive growth reported across almost all its services throughout 2020. At the very beginning of the pandemic, the firm reported massive adoption figures for Microsoft Teams which surpassed 44 million daily active users.

For Q2, cloud computing services took centre stage. Dynamics 365 revenue was up 39%, Intelligent Cloud climbed 23% and Microsoft's server business recorded growth of 23%. As a result, its Azure cloud platform grew 50% year-over-year, the company said.

"What we have witnessed over the past year is the dawn of a second wave of digital transformation sweeping every company and every industry," said Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella.

"Building their own digital capability is the new currency driving every organisation's resilience and growth. Microsoft is powering this shift with the world's largest and most comprehensive cloud platform."

Elsewhere, Microsoft reported a 23% increase in LinkedIn revenue, and Windows Commercial and Surface growth of 10% and 3%, respectively. The biggest increase, however, was its Xbox content and services revenue, which climbed by 40% during the three-month period.

The results showcase the breadth of services Microsoft offer and how well it has responded to the outbreak of COVID. Compared to other cloud providers, such as IBM, the company has seen increases in almost every segment of its business.

The growth in Azure, and cloud services, in particular, suggest that remote working is likely to continue, even beyond a full rollout of the coronavirus vaccine.