Microsoft cloud coming to financial services, manufacturing and non-profits

25 Feb 2021

Image: © Tierney/Stock.adobe.com

Organisations in financial services, manufacturing and the non-profit sector will be able to access industry-specific cloud offerings from Microsoft.

Microsoft has been rolling out more cloud services over the past year. Having already unveiled services for the healthcare and retail sectors, its latest offerings are specific to financial services, manufacturing and non-profits.

Cloud has been a growing part of the tech giant’s business for some time. Earlier this year, it reported that its cloud services helped push Q4 2020 revenue past $40bn.

Microsoft said it is rolling out these new cloud services as “the urgency for entire industries to transform at scale has never been greater”.

“Over the past year, we have experienced dramatic disruption around the world. Companies in every industry have turned to digital technologies for the resilience and agility necessary to survive,” the company said.

“In response, we have accelerated our efforts to support and co-innovate with customers and partners – both now and long term – with industry-specific cloud offerings that can provide a launchpad for further innovations.”

The new services have been developed alongside industry figures including financial experts and non-profit leaders.

Microsoft Cloud for Financial Services

The financial services cloud package focuses on security and compliance. It will combine Microsoft cloud solutions, templates, APIs and industry-specific standards to help clients improve customer experiences, employee collaboration, manage risk and modernise core systems.

For example, retail banks will be able to create a complete view of the customer that will give them deeper insights and recommendations. It will help banks embed digital collaboration into process workflows, with the aim of creating real-time visibility of project statuses and greater insights to help reduce fraud.

A new feature called Loan Manager aims to help lenders close loans faster in the newly remote world, with automation to streamline workflows and increase transparency. A preview of the Microsoft Cloud for Financial Services will be publicly available from March, and the product is already being trialled in ABN AMRO and insurance company Manulife.

Microsoft Cloud for Manufacturing

With shifts to automation, IoT, machine learning and AI taking place in the manufacturing industry, Microsoft said its Cloud for Manufacturing package will offer end-to-end solutions for the sector.

The company is looking to place emphasis on resilience by helping organisations with partner solutions for connecting people, assets, workflows and business processes. This service will be available for preview by the end of June, and has been used by Accenture, Avanade and Siemens.

Microsoft Cloud for Non-profit

Microsoft’s cloud services for the non-profit sector will also be available to preview by the end of June. The company’s goal is to help these organisations overcome “a patchwork of disparate systems and pockets of disconnected data”.

Its key features will focus on constituent engagement, programme design and delivery, volunteer management and fundraising. Global non-profit Right to Play has been using the service, helping it scale from 100 to more than 3,000 new monthly donors.

Microsoft said that these products are the next step in its journey to deliver industry-specific cloud services that “enable every organisation to adapt to a constantly changing new reality”.

“The complexity of our world is increasing daily, and the lessons of 2020 are showing up as organisations everywhere learn to be more agile and resilient,” it added. “They are counting on Microsoft to help them master this complexity so they can move faster, innovate thoughtfully and be positioned for success.”

Lisa Ardill was careers editor at Silicon Republic until June 2021

editorial@siliconrepublic.com