When Microsoft reported its financial results for the second fiscal quarter of 2017, it revealed that its Azure cloud computing revenues climbed 93 percent. “While Microsoft does not break out Azure from the broader Intelligent Cloud category (which also includes some server products, cloud services, and enterprise services), the Azure business nearly doubled year-over-year (as it did last quarter), and usage continues to double year-over-year,” said Dave Bartoletti, principal analyst at Forrester. “Basically, Azure is more than twice the size it was at this time last year, and the growth trajectory is consistent.”
Similarly, Google parent company Alphabet also reported growth in its cloud computing unit, as well as in its Google Play sales. Alphabet CFO Ruth Porat noted that the company ” had substantial growth in other revenues from hardware, Play and cloud.” In all, about 13 percent of Google’s revenue came from non-advertising sources, although it isn’t exactly clear how much of that can be attributed to its cloud and Android businesses.
