Technology news: Microsoft saw all-time record gaming engagement in its third quarter, with nearly 19 million active users of Xbox Live, led by the strength on and off-console

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As Covid-19 impacts every aspect of work and life,
Microsoft has seen two years’ worth of digital transformation in just two
months of its third quarter (January-March period), said Microsoft CEO Satya
Nadella during an earnings call on Wednesday.

The company on Wednesday beat Wall Street sales
and profit expectations, powered by sharp demand for its Teams chat and online
meeting app and Xbox gaming services as the world shifted to working and
playing from home because of the novel coronavirus pandemic.

“From remote teamwork and learning to sales and
customer service to critical cloud infrastructure and security, we are working
alongside customers every day to help them stay open for business in a world of
remote everything,” said Nadella.

As new work norms evolve, organizations are realizing
they need a comprehensive solution that brings together communications,
collaboration and business process, built on a foundation of security and
privacy.

‘More broadly, we continue to see momentum with organizations
across Microsoft 365. Office 365 now has 258 million paid seats. Usage of
Windows virtual desktop tripled this quarter as organizations deploy virtual
desktops and apps on Azure to enable secure remote work,’ informed Nadella.

Microsoft 365 Personal and Family now has more
than 39 million subscribers.

“Windows 10 now has more than 1 billion monthly
active devices, up 30 per cent year-over-year, and we are seeing demand for
Windows 10 PCs from small screens to large screens to dual screens,” the
Microsoft CEO added.

For over a decade, developers have come together
remotely on Microsoft-owned open source repository GitHub to build the world’s
software. ‘As of today, we have 50 million developers on GitHub,’ said Nadella.

Developers are collaborating on mission-critical
projects from tracking the spread of Covid-19 to implementing contact tracing
to helping expand access to personal protective equipment.

‘We are bringing GitHub to even more developers,
making core features free for the first time for teams of any size,’ he added.

Amid the changing jobs market, LinkedIn’s role in
creating economic opportunity for every member of the global workforce has
never been more acute, according to Microsoft.

‘LinkedIn is where more than 690 million
professionals go to connect, learn new skills and find new opportunities,
contributing to record levels of engagement across the platform in Q3,’ said
Nadella.

Professionals watched nearly four million hours of
content on LinkedIn Learning in March, a nearly 50 per cent increase
month-over-month.

‘With LinkedIn Live, people and organizations can
broadcast video content to their networks in real time. Streams are up 158 per
cent since February,’ he informed.

Microsoft saw all-time record gaming engagement in
its third quarter, with nearly 19 million active users of Xbox Live, led by the
strength on and off-console.

“Xbox Game Pass has more than 10 million
subscribers, and we are seeing increased monetisation of in-game content and
services. And our Project xCloud gaming service now has hundreds of thousands
of users in preview across 7 countries, with 8 more launching in the coming
weeks,” Nadella added.

While Microsoft results beat expectations, some
analysts believe that the company also missed opportunities where demand is
huge. Moor Insights & Strategy analyst Patrick Moorhead said, “The
biggest missed opportunity was in Surface; the channel inventory was depleted,
and supply chain constraints reduced finished goods output. I believe the
company could have easily sold 15-20% more if available.”