The evangelist who resurrected Microsoft

Nadella was in the Netherlands on Wednesday to open the new Schiphol-Rijk office. He gave a speech in the arena and had time to briefly discuss with the newspaper between the companies. Fifteen minutes, to be precise, in an exorbitant program in which the boss of Microsoft rushed in front of important customers such as Ahold and Shell and shook hands with Prime Minister Mark Rutte in The Hague.

Nadella says that he likes to bring together the experiences of others, concerned about his empathic approach. "It's not about our technology but what people do with it," he repeats often. That's his mantra and the mantra of the company. In the evening, the jet of Microsoft flew with Nadella and her team in London for even more empathic encounters.

You change a lot in Microsoft; you made peace with Google and adopted the open source developers. Did you then ask Bill Gates to continue cooperating?

"I want to go back to what once made us great – people who make tools for others – it's very close to how the company was founded in 1975. Our employees need Feel that Bill, as a founder, wants to stay involved is really a gift, he is a support in the meeting room and continues to encourage me to go even further. "

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What do you mean by the fact that Microsoft does not have to be" cool ",

" It's not " not about us, but technology developed with our products, digital technology is ubiquitous, the question is whether everyone can bring their own economic benefit. "

You call yourself an empathic leader, but are you this the way to win the war against the cloud? Still want to beat Amazon?

"We should not be motivated by our competitors, but by what we can add to the world.The most interesting part of the cloud is on the periphery and Microsoft is the market leader. offer a complete fabric of computing power. "

The Double Data Center

This fabric requires some explanation. Nadella – who grew up in the world of workstations and servers – likes to give a lesson in cloud strategy during the conversation. Microsoft owes its recent resurrection to the growth of the public cloud network, Azure, and to commercial customers who subscribe to Microsoft and Office online. Azure is a global network of 54 data centers, including a large complex located in Middenmeer (North Holland). Microsoft wants to build a new two – story data center, which will double its storage capacity in the coming year.

The cloud is extended with the intelligent edge : computers powerful enough to perform calculations themselves for artificial intelligence, also outside the data center.

Azure also enters small device sensors, with chips designed by Microsoft in collaboration with Intel. The goal is to make the Internet of Things safer, thanks to its Microsofts. Nadella's "global fabric" must help companies spread artificial intelligence on their own data. This requires computing power that can be purchased from Microsoft for payment.

Nadella's tactic is to sell Microsoft as a neutral supplier without conflict of interest. Amazon cloud and Google thigh providers: Amazon earns money with the online store and extends to the transport and health sector. Google's parent company, Alphabet, has a medical branch and develops autonomous cars. Microsoft has withdrawn from the medical sector.

Nadella: "If you have several branches of industry, it may be confusing." The boss of Microsoft, for example, opposes the competitors, as a big technology without spice. This sometimes happens as a disguised sneer.

Is Microsoft limited? Do not you purposely develop a variant of Netflix and do not you build purpose-built cars on purpose?

"I do not want to limit it We focus You think maybe three big companies are going to dominate the world We do not assume that Dutch multinationals will want to be successful too. model is better in the long run. "

Microsoft wants to be accessible to all, of all cultures and abilities. What do you think of the US government that wants to limit immigration?

"I am the product of two American phenomena: American technology available abroad and a country accessible to immigrants.We will always focus on these values ​​in Washington.

"We remain an American society. Microsoft has a global mission, but everywhere, its own country comes first. In the Netherlands, too, this concerns " The Netherlands first ", on the problems that arise here in the sector of education, in the medical sector.

So you do not see American politics as a threat to Microsoft?

"No. Nor do I fear nationalism or populism – people choose the government they want. As entrepreneurs, we must be careful to create added value in each country. That's how you have to judge us. The only danger is a multinational that benefits only one country and contributes nothing. "

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You predict a future in which all devices are connected … Can you always disconnect?

" The last thing that we wish, it is to use technology in a way that does not favor your social relations or your attention. I take the longest break of technology when I read a book. In addition, I have the opportunity to travel, to see the world, to meet people and to learn from them. "

So you turn off your phone regularly and what are the rules at home?"

"No device at the table and during a conversation, these are the rules. But yes, it is not always easy. One of the goals we are looking for, as Microsoft, is that our digital assistant Cortana must remove this impression of rest, constantly checking the news. Cortana is checking that for me. And helps draw my attention to things that I find important. That's at least our goal: we do our best. "