Microsoft launches new cloud services for AI and blockchain

(Reuters) – Microsoft Corp announced Thursday new tools for software companies to facilitate the use of technologies such as artificial intelligence and blockchain.

Microsoft has released the tools in anticipation of its software developer conference next week in Seattle. Formerly known primarily for its Windows personal computer operating system, the company now relies on revenue growth from its cloud computing and software services, most of which are sold to other companies.

While Microsoft remains behind Amazon.com Inc.'s leading Amazon cloud services revenue, it has taken a different approach to the market by designing many of its services for Microsoft Azure data centers. the private data centers of its customers or A combination of both.

Amazon, on the other hand, initially asked customers to transfer their data to its own servers, although in recent years it has also adopted Microsoft's "hybrid" approach.

A new service from Microsoft is helping online retailers to recommend products based on the purchase history and can be combined with the retailer's existing recommendation engine, said Scott Guthrie, head of cloud and cloud computing. artificial intelligence at Microsoft.

"They use ours in addition to their existing system and are seeing huge gains in productivity," Guthrie said. "I do not think it will always be a winner who takes everything."

Microsoft also offers tools allowing users to create artificial intelligence models without having to write the underlying code. These templates can then be "trained" using the data of the business owner in the Microsoft cloud.

The company is also introducing a blockchain service based on the cloud. The blockchain, a registry for tracking transactions between many participants, is used in the field of financial technology. Microsoft said it was working with JP Morgan Chase & Co on the Quorum bid of the bank.

But Guthrie, of Microsoft, said the blockchain had other uses, such as the system that Microsoft helped Starbucks Corp create to track coffee when it moves from farms to stores in the customer's cup.

"This allows them, from the point of view of quality control, to significantly improve the end-to-end supply chain and provide a better product," Guthrie said.

Microsoft also announced the release of a developer edition of its HoloLens 2 helmet, announced earlier this year. The device, which superimposes digital information on the real world, will cost $ 3,500 and is intended for businesses such as security training and complex repair work.