Build 2018: Microsoft embraces its new platforms, Azure and Microsoft 365

Enlarge / An oil platform moored in Scotland. It's not on fire. (credit: Berardo62 / Flickr)

SEATTLE-Windows isn't going away any time soon. A glance at Microsoft's financials makes clear that the Windows business is still important for Microsoft. But as the reorganization in March demonstrated, Windows is no longer central to Microsoft's vision in the way it once was. Instead, it's now part of a broader picture with two platforms: Azure and Microsoft 365.

Microsoft 365-the subscription service that includes Office, Windows, and a range of additional services on top-will be the focus tomorrow. Today was all about Azure.

The company's major focus is currently machine learning, bringing new services and expanding the reach of those services to make it easier to use machine-learning features in a wide range of applications. That expanded reach comes from running machine-learning models on endpoint devices rather than in the cloud, allowing low-latency, offline operation.

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