Microsoft Azure might not be quite as profitable as we all thought
Azure’s recent revenue was less than half of AWS
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
Unredacted court documents first reported on byThe Informationreveal thatMicrosoft’s Azure business generated $34 billion in revenue in the 12 months leading up to June 2022 - less than half (47%) of the $72 billion generated by its key rival AWS over the same period.
Microsoft has long been secretive about the true scale of its cloud business, instead leaving investors and analysts to merely guess how well it has performed. The court documents, which have now been removed, may push Redmond to now be somewhat more transparent about its revenue.
Instead, the company has historically packaged Azure figures together with Enterprise Services, Windows Server, and SQL Server figures, in a business operation it calls Intelligent Cloud.
Microsoft revenues
The court filing, which relates to yet another antitrust case in the US (Microsoft is the hot topic in the EU for its reportedly anticompetitive cloud business), indicates that there’s no evidence if Microsoft’s Azure business is even profitable at this point.
These are the best cloud hosting providers>AWS is making a huge investment into India>AWS is investing billions in expanding its global cloud footprint
The year following June 2022 has been a massive one for the company on the whole, with significant generative AI developments that have seen Azure play host to theOpenAIService and many other artificial intelligence operations. Whether that means a spike in revenue, or a bigger spike in costs, it remains to be seen just how profitable Azure actually is.
Regardless, with both AWS and Azure accounting for 30-40% each of the UK public cloud market in the UK in 2021 (viaOfcom), alarm bells are beginning to sound about Azure’s comparably lower revenue.
In terms of the cloud infrastructure services market,Synergysuggests that AWS accounts for 32%, with Azure trailing behind in second place with 23%.
Are you a pro? Subscribe to our newsletter
Sign up to the TechRadar Pro newsletter to get all the top news, opinion, features and guidance your business needs to succeed!
In response to a request to comment, Microsoft toldTechRadar Pro: “Microsoft has nothing to share.”
With several years’ experience freelancing in tech and automotive circles, Craig’s specific interests lie in technology that is designed to better our lives, including AI and ML, productivity aids, and smart fitness. He is also passionate about cars and the decarbonisation of personal transportation. As an avid bargain-hunter, you can be sure that any deal Craig finds is top value!
LG Electronics sets ambitious B2B revenue goal to offset declining consumer demand
New fanless cooling technology enhances energy efficiency for AI workloads by achieving a 90% reduction in cooling power consumption
Phishing attacks surge in 2024 as cybercriminals adopt AI tools and multi-channel tactics
