Cloud adoption increased significantly during COVID-19 and continues for many companies. However, an enormous migration and modernization opportunity remains as organizations continue their digital transformation. In fact, 72 percent of organizations reported their industry’s pace of digital transformation accelerated because of COVID-19, according to a survey sponsored by Microsoft in The Economist1. And that isn’t expected to slow down anytime soon.
Microsoft is hearing key themes from customers that reinforce this, including:
- Cloud has become the catalyst for innovation. Customers are moving beyond operational efficiency to create new products and offerings, leveraging the unique capabilities of cloud to differentiate themselves.
- Customers are not just looking for technology, they’re looking for a trusted partner. They need an expert to help them navigate these tough issues as they move toward hybrid, multi-cloud, and edge environments, facing new complexities and opportunities.
- Security, data privacy, and compliance are top of mind for customers in every industry as cyberattacks continue to rise2.
Microsoft recently announced new Microsoft Azure capabilities to help partners increase return on investments, grow leads, and shorten sales cycles. This includes updates to our Azure Migration and Modernization Program (AMMP) and announcing the ISV Success Program.
Innovate with new cloud-native experiences
Organizations across industries are looking to deliver highly personalized experiences to their end customers. Cloud-native applications can help meet these needs. For example, Microsoft Azure has helped retailers like Walgreens gain immediate access to rich transactional data and insights, enabling faster decisions and better customer experiences. According to IDC3, 750 million new logical applications will be built by 2025. This is why so many enterprises are turning to Azure for their cloud-native applications. Partners can help customers build cloud apps using scalable containerized architectures combined with globally scalable databases infused with intelligence through AI.
Modernize application and data estates
Modernization of applications and data represents a huge partner opportunity where one project will lead to the next. In fact, 59 percent of organizations see modernizing apps to the cloud as a top initiative4. According to Microsoft estimates, the opportunity for data exceeds $42 billion today, and will grow to $85 billion by fiscal year 2025. Their goal is to help partners close deals to modernize the application and data estates even faster. Microsoft has made this even more seamless with the newly released Microsoft Intelligent Data Platform. This end-to-end ecosystem integrates databases, analytics, and governance across the customer estate—enabling organizations to adapt in real-time, add layers of intelligence to their applications, unlock fast and predictive insights, and govern their data—wherever it resides.
No matter where customers are in their modernization journey, Azure offers flexibility between control over managing infrastructure and the level of productivity desired. Partner advisory services and technical expertise is extremely valuable in this estate-level opportunity.
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Source: Kathleen Mitford , Microsoft
