Microsoft has announced yet another bumper quarter for the company, with its Azure cloud computing division once again proving extremely lucrative.
The computing giant's FY21 Q4 results revealed that its commercial cloud revenue grew 36% year over year to hit $19.5 billion, with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella taking particular time to highlight the good work Azure has done.
But there was also a landmark moment for LinkedIn, as the business-focused social network saw revenues rise by 46%, fuelled by a 97% growth in its marketing solutions. User numbers grew 30% with "record engagement", Microsoft said, all leading to LinkedIn topping $10bn in revenues for the first time.
- These are the best cloud management software choices around
- Here's our list of the best cloud storage services right now
- Take a look at our list of the best cloud backup services out there
Microsoft results
Elsewhere, Microsoft revealed revenues in its Intelligent Cloud division increased 30% to hit $17.4bn, with server products and cloud services revenue driving this with a 34% increase, and Azure revenue increasing 51% in the quarter.
Overall, Microsoft revealed $46.2bn in revenue during the quarter ending June 30 2021, an increase of 21%. Operating income was $19.1bn (up 42%), with net income hitting $16.5bn (a rise of 47%).
“We are innovating across the technology stack to help organizations drive new levels of tech intensity across their business,” said Satya Nadella, chairman and chief executive officer of Microsoft.
“Our results show that when we execute well and meet customers’ needs in differentiated ways in large and growing markets, we generate growth, as we’ve seen in our commercial cloud – and in new franchises we’ve built, including gaming, security, and LinkedIn, all of which surpassed $10 billion in annual revenue over the past three years.”
Microsoft recorded a total of $168.1bn in revenues for its full fiscal year, a year-on-year increase of 18%, with operating income rising 32% to hit $69.9bn.
Analysis: another bumper quarter for Microsoft, so where now?
The future's bright, the future's...cloudy?
Ahead of the launch of Windows 11 later this year, Microsoft is looking to focus on the other successes of its business - namely Azure. The company's cloud computing division has boomed during the pandemic and remote working era, and is, much like its rival AWS at Amazon, a major factor behind its parent company's success.
With more and more companies now choosing to go down the hybrid working route, Azure should only be set for further growth in years to come - especially with Windows 11 set to encourage the idea of working more flexibily.
This might only be the start of yet another bumper period for Microsoft.
- Here's our list of the best cloud analytics services right now
