Text: Yang Jianyong.
The generative wave fueled by ChatGPT, Microsoft is undoubtedly one of the biggest winners. Not only did the market capitalization hit an all-time high, surpassing the $3 trillion mark, but the revenue was also AI-driven, which was also a record. Revenue for the second quarter of fiscal 2024 (ended December 31, 2023) was $62 billion, up 18% year-over-year; With a net profit of US$21.9 billion, a year-on-year increase of 33%, it is one of the most profitable technology companies in the world.
Thanks to the generative AI outlet, it is reshaping all walks of life and creating huge business value, and enterprises will accelerate their upgrade to intelligence. According to an earlier Gartner survey, 98% of leaders believe generative AI will transform their entire operations.
Microsoft uses ChatGPT to improve its products and services, including the full integration of GPT into Office, and the AI service product Microsoft 365 Copilot to greatly improve productivity, combined with advanced AI technology, through natural language interaction, to provide users with instant and personalized information and solutions, and fully introduce interactive artificial intelligence assistants for various business applications.
As enterprises vigorously promote the application of AI large models, Microsoft CEO Nadella said that we have shifted from talking about artificial intelligence to applying artificial intelligence on a large scale. By incorporating AI into every layer of the technology stack, we are winning new customers and helping every industry drive new benefits and productivity gains.
For example, in professional services, KPMG has increased employee productivity by 50%; EY is using Microsoft 365's Copilot to more easily generate reports and access near real-time insights. With generative AI and Microsoft Copilot, Bayer has identified great potential in more than 700 application areas and continues to explore more possibilities.
Siger, Vice President and Head of Global Digital Workplace at Bayer, revealed Copilot's outstanding contributions in three key areas: first, increased productivity, where employees are now able to process emails, organize information and review documents more efficiently; The second is to strengthen team collaboration, with Copilot, team members can more easily understand their roles and progress in the project, so that they can work better together. The third is to stimulate creativity, Copilot not only provides creative inspiration for the team, but also helps generate first drafts.
Previously, a survey on business trends showed that nine out of ten workers hope that AI can help them reduce repetitive work at work. Dynamics 365 Copilot provides employees across your organization with AI tools for sales, customer service, marketing, operations, and chain roles that help people reduce tedious repetitive tasks and free up valuable time for more creative work.
In the field of AI, collaboration is crucial. Copilot is such a powerful collaboration tool, which relies on Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service to achieve a full range of application design and operation from the cloud to edge devices. It can be seen that Microsoft's business application Copilot will be the next generation of business growth. As a result, revenue from productivity and business processes increased by 13% to $19.2 billion.
With Copilots (AI assistants), we are bringing individuals and businesses around the world into the era of artificial intelligence. Microsoft CEO Nadella once said. He also said that we are rapidly injecting AI into every layer of the technology stack, as well as into every position and business process to improve the productivity of our customers.
It is worth noting that Microsoft exports its AI capabilities through cloud services, which in turn promotes the continuous expansion of the cloud service market. Microsoft is the world's largest cloud service provider by revenue.
Microsoft's CFO said in its earnings report that Microsoft's cloud revenue in the second quarter of fiscal 2024 was $33.7 billion, a year-on-year increase of 24%. Among the business segments, cloud services are the most eye-catching, and intelligent cloud has become the largest business segment.
In the second quarter of fiscal 2024, revenue from the intelligent cloud segment was $25.9 billion, up 20% year-over-year. Among them, Azure and other cloud services revenue increased by 30%. The global public cloud market is second only to Amazon, and it has been slowly closing the gap with Amazon.
In addition, it should be pointed out that since 2014, Microsoft has been at the helm of Nadella because of its bet on cloud computing and artificial intelligence, as a result, the old technology giant has achieved self-transformation and cultural reshaping, and has transformed itself into a platform enterprise with cloud services due to the active transformation of cloud and AI. At the same time, applications based on Microsoft cloud services are ubiquitous, becoming one of the classic cases of transformation in global business history, and once again standing on top of the world.
Finally, as AI is widely used in society, its impact on the economy is becoming more and more significant. Organizations are increasingly recognizing the tremendous changes that AI has brought about.
According to IDC**, generative AI intelligence will grow global GDP by nearly $10 trillion over the next 10 years. McKinsey has also said that deep learning algorithms like OpenAI's ChatGPT, after being further trained on enterprise data, can create the equivalent of 2.2 per year in 63 business use cases6 trillion to 4$4 trillion in value.
Driven by ChatGPT, artificial intelligence has entered the era of large models. As a result, artificial intelligence has ushered in a new round of rapid development, especially the digital and intelligent upgrading of all walks of life is in full swing. The AI model is the key to digital transformation, which is also the key to the large model services launched by many technology manufacturers, empowering the digital transformation of thousands of industries.
Generative AI has stepped onto the stage of the times, and for AI companies, it will not only help the digital transformation and upgrading of all walks of life, but also usher in development opportunities.
Personal opinion, for reference only.
Yang Jianyong is a Forbes China contributor who provides insights into cutting-edge technologies such as the Internet of Things, cloud services, artificial intelligence, and smart homes.