Microsoft created the Azure cloud platform, which launched publicly in 2010.
Azure was first announced under the name Windows Azure in 2008 and became commercially available in 2010. Microsoft later shortened the name to Microsoft Azure as the platform expanded beyond Windows-based services. It provides computing, storage, databases, networking, analytics and artificial-intelligence tools over the internet.
Azure is a major part of Microsoft’s cloud and enterprise business. Its principal competitors include Amazon Web Services and Google Cloud. Cloud platforms allow organizations to rent computing resources rather than buying and operating all of the necessary physical hardware themselves.
Microsoft’s market value has been strongly influenced by recurring software revenue, enterprise relationships and growth in cloud services. Azure is therefore often mentioned when explaining how Microsoft evolved from a personal-computer software company into a diversified technology corporation.