All over the world, you can see how the current crises are leaving their mark. Many companies have had to lay off employees. Budgets for IT and business transformation are under pressure. As a result, IT providers are facing weakened growth rates.
When deciding on a new ERP or CRM solution or a cloud migration and looking for a cloud platform provider, it is very important that you get a good idea of the financial capabilities of your candidates. After all, you're not buying a solution for just a few months!
Microsoft recently announced the results for the 3rd quarter of its 2022/2023 financial year. The results are very good - despite the headwinds. They beat analysts' estimates in terms of both revenue and profit.
Microsoft's results for Q3 2023 exceeded analysts' general expectations in many respects.
Results for the 3rd quarter of 2023:
✅ Earnings: USD 2.45 per share compared to USD 2.23 per share according to analysts' expectations.
✅ Revenue from Azure and other cloud services increased by 27 %
✅ The productivity and business process segment including Dynamics 365, LinkedIn and Office grew by 11 %
✅ Sales of Dynamics products and cloud services increased by 17 %, driven by sales growth of 25 % for Dynamics 365 (Cloud)
The market appreciates these results, as evidenced by the share price: Microsoft shares have risen by 15 % in the calendar year to date.
Impressive customer data
On the occasion of the quarterly figures, Microsoft also announced data on customer numbers in the rapidly growing AI sector:
✅ More than 15,000 Azure Arc customers, over 150 % more than in the previous year
✅ More than 36,000 companies have used „existing AI-supported functions in Power Platform“
✅ 33 million monthly active users of the Power Platform, almost 50 % more than in the previous year
✅ More than 2,500 Azure OpenAI service customers, 10-fold increase compared to the previous quarter
Microsoft described the quarterly result for Dynamics 365 as „healthy growth across all workloads“, with overall Dynamics revenue increasing by 17 percent and Dynamics 365 Cloud even by 25 percent growth. The company is forecasting Dynamics sales growth „in the mid to high teens over the next few quarters, driven by the continued growth of Dynamics 365.“
Satya Nadella, Chairman and CEO of Microsoft, expressed his confidence in these results. „The world's most innovative AI models are being brought together with the world's most universal user interface - natural language - to create a new era of computing,“ he said. „Through the Microsoft Cloud, we are the platform of choice to help customers get the most value from their digital spend and innovate for the next generation of AI.“
So if you are looking for an innovative and financially sound ERP provider, you should definitely put Microsoft on your shortlist!