Now firmly established as a top player in public cloud, how does Microsoft plan to continue migrating legacy customers into the future of computing and innovating beyond the cloud status quo?

The momentum of Microsoft’s efforts to drive modernization, both internally and among customers entrenched in outdated infrastructure and insufficient data processes, has enabled the legacy software maker to grow beyond its roots into a viable competitor in public cloud computing. Strategic acquisitions, expanded customer support, and a dedicated focus on the cultural aspects of tech transformation have propelled the company in its transition to software as a service leader, despite competition from information technology support organizations already well positioned in the public cloud market.

Looking to answer these and other questions, SiliconANGLE is at Microsoft Ignite 2018, currently underway in Orlando, Florida, with exclusive commentary and interviews from our roving news desk, theCUBE. TheCUBE coverage will begin on Monday, September 24, at 12:30 p.m. ET and end on Wednesday, September 26, at 4:00 p.m. ET. (* Disclosure below.)

Despite some lingering trepidation around security and cost, businesses that have so far remained slow to evolve are beginning to see that benefits to cloud and artificial intelligence not only outweigh costs, but are an increasing necessity in maintaining relevance.

For non-cloud-native organizations eager to modernize, an agile, scalable, interoperable multi-platform alternative is rapidly emerging as a popular solution. The global hybrid cloud market will be worth a reported $97.64 billion by 2023, expanding at a compound annual growth rate of 17 percent.

While Amazon Web Services Inc. still dominates the global market for public cloud, Microsoft comes in at a close second, outranking Google, Alibaba and IBM, and looks to be slowly gaining on AWS’ lead through developments in the application deployment service Microsoft Azure. The company’s $7.5-billion acquisition of GitHub in June enabled Azure’s expansion through Kubernetes container management, as well as other offerings tailored to target a developer audience.

“Microsoft is a leader in datacenters via their software and a leader in public cloud,” said Stu Miniman, an analyst with Wikibon (owned by the same company as SiliconANGLE). “Take public cloud; they’re number two. If you take all cloud, you could argue they’re number one.”

The company is also proficient in the software as a service ecosystem, where its growth is outpacing that of the overall market as enterprise users are transitioned to SaaS offerings. “Their push to get everyone from traditional Office to Office 365 is one of the biggest shifts for enterprise users to adopt SaaS,” Miniman said, speaking of Microsoft’s popular enterprise software.

In the pursuit of improved processing efficiencies to match the ever-increasing clip of data accretion, a growing number of enterprises are also investing in AI. The global market for AI is growing by 49.3 percent each year and is forecast to reach $153,389 million by the end of 2025.

With a rich customer base generating valuable data, from Windows’ operating system to Xbox gaming network, and its reputation in the infrastructure and integrations artificial intelligence lacks, Microsoft is well positioned for AI innovation. The company currently has a team of 8,000 devoted to AI research developing products and services, like automated capabilities for OneDrive for Business, new features for Office 365, and an Alexa-Cortana integration with Amazon that leverages automated technology and ensures a streamlined experience across multiple devices and platforms.

As Microsoft continues to grow through acquisitions like that of LinkedIn Corp. and AI startup Lobe Artificial Intelligence Inc., the company further commits itself to technological and cultural transformation. As it scales in the modern cloud market, can Microsoft continue to innovate and create the impact it has historically had in tech? All this and more will be explored at this year’s Microsoft Ignite.

Keynote speakers

Keynote speakers at Microsoft Ignite include Satya Nadella, chief executive officer of Microsoft; Julia White, corporate vice president, Azure and security marketing, at Microsoft; Brad Anderson, corporate vice president, enterprise experiences and management, at Microsoft; James Phillips, corporate vice president of Microsoft Business Applications Group; Bev Crair, vice president of development and quality at Lenovo; Jeffrey Snover, technical fellow and chief architect for Azure Storage and Cloud Edge at Microsoft; and Lynn Lucas, chief marketing officer of Cohesity.

How to watch theCUBE interviews

We offer you various ways to watch all of theCUBE interviews that will be taking place at Microsoft Ignite, including theCUBE’s dedicated website and YouTube. You can also get all the coverage from this year’s event on SiliconANGLE.

TheCUBE’s dedicated website and Ustream

All of theCUBE’s exclusive interviews from Microsoft Ignite 2018 will be available on theCUBE’s dedicated website.

You can also watch all the interviews on the dedicated Ustream channel.

Watch on the SiliconANGLE YouTube channel

All of theCUBE interviews from Microsoft Ignite, which runs from June 20-21, will also be loaded onto SiliconANGLE’s dedicated YouTube channel.

Cubecasts

SiliconANGLE also has podcasts available of archived interview sessions, available on both SoundCloud and iTunes, which you can enjoy while on the go.

Guests who will be interviewed on theCUBE at the Microsoft Ignite

Guests who will be interviewed on theCUBE include Microsoft Ignite keynote speakers Jeffrey Snover, Lynn Lucas and Bev Crair.

Other guests include Jake Smith, director of marketing of the Data Center Group at Intel; Raphael Meyerowitz, vice president, office of the chief technology officer, at Presidio; Tal Klein, chief marketing officer at Lakeside Software; Carmen Crincoli, senior program manager, Windows Server, at Microsoft; and Ross Smith, principal program manager at Microsoft.

TheCUBE will also speak with Jeff Mealiffe, principal program manager at Microsoft; Scott Schnoll, senior program manager at Microsoft; Thomas LaRock, head geek at SolarWinds; Greg Taylor, director of product marketing at Microsoft; Joachim Hammer, principal product manager at Microsoft; Sai Mukundan, product manager, cloud solutions, at Cohesity; and Calvin Rowland, senior vice president of business development at F5.

(* Disclosure: Some segments on SiliconANGLE Media’s theCUBE are sponsored. Sponsors have no editorial control over content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

Image: Courtesy of Microsoft Ignite