MicrosoftCorp. turned 43 this year. And while that’s old by technology standards, the company’s age isn’t stopping it from continuing to staunchly advocate for the digital transformation. But from an analyst’s perspective, what steps are Microsoft taking to stay relevant as a multinational giant?

Weighing in on Microsoft’s advancements in the digital age is Patrick Moorhead (pictured), founder, president and principal analyst at Moor Insights & Strategy.

“Microsoft is one of the only companies that has been able to turn the corner from being aged and experienced … and moving into the new zone,” Moorhead said.

Moorhead spoke with Stu Miniman (@stu) and Rebecca Knight (@knightrm), co-hosts of theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s mobile livestreaming studio, during the Microsoft Ignite event in Orlando, Florida. They discussed Microsoft’s current tech efforts and predictions of its success in the future. (* Disclosure below.)

Machine learning and more

One of the biggest takeaways from Microsoft Ignite 2018 for Moorhead was the announcement that Microsoft, SAP America Inc., and Adobe Systems Inc. are spearheading an Open Data Initiative, which will enable organizations to have their data exchanged and enriched across these three systems. This is an agreement that will ultimately help customers advance in machine learning capabilities, according to Moorhead.

“To do machine learning correctly, you have to have a lot of data,” Moorhead said. “What having data interoperability standards means is you can bring it in, you don’t have to cleanse it as much, and you can do real-time analytics and machine learning.”

As to the many big Azure announcements, one thing that excited Moorhead particularly was the announcements that Microsoft Azure will enable auto ML. “Essentially … it autotags your data,” Moorhead described. “It’s smart enough to know that this is an image as opposed to you having to start at the very beginning and hand code some data.”

And while Azure Stack is indeed a big deal with customers, it’s been a slow boil, according to Moorhead. “I just think it’s getting a little bit slower start than everybody had thought,” he said.

The real conversation in a year will be if Microsoft will deliver on its internet of things commitments in Azure IoT Central and how much of its business has actually moved from on-premises software to software as a service through products like Microsoft 365.

“That’s what I think we’ll be talking about in a year,” Moorhead concluded.

Watch the complete video interview below, and be sure to check out more of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s coverage of the Microsoft Ignite event. (* Disclosure: Cohesity Inc. sponsored coverage of Microsoft Ignite, and some segments on SiliconANGLE Media’s theCUBE are sponsored. Sponsors have no editorial control over content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

Photo: SiliconANGLE