Here’s The ‘Dirty Little Secret’ Of Microsoft’s Cloud Business

Grazed from BusinessInsider. Author: Julie Bort.

There’s a huge change going on in the tech industry that will create a whole new crop of winners and losers: cloud computing. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella recently declared that Microsoft was already in with the winners. "We absolutely caught the trend … it’s no longer up for debate, whether we get the cloud," he said. One reason he gave to back up his claim: Microsoft’s cloud business is on track to be a $4.5 billion business. But sources tell Business Insider that this $4.5 billion number isn’t as straightforward as it seems…

The Dirty Secret

The $4-billion-mark is a major milestone for cloud computing companies. Pure cloud company Salesforce.com just hit over $4 billion in revenues in its last fiscal year and expects to hit $5.3 billion at the end of its current fiscal year. It took it 15 years and a major acquisition, marketing automation company Exact Target…

Read more from the source @ http://www.businessinsider.com/microsofts-cloud-business-the-good-the-bad-the-ugly-2014-11#ixzz3IzVGfPZ3