KACHARAGADLA

Microsoft Corp ( MSFT.O ) said sales of its flagship cloud product doubled in its first quarter, propelling earnings above analysts' estimates and sending its shares to an all-time high, breaking past a level hit in 1999 at the peak of the tech stock bubble. The company's shares have doubled since August 2013 with Chief Executive Satya Nadella restoring investor confidence by focusing on mobile and cloud computing rather than PCs. Long known for its Windows software, Microsoft has shifted focus to the cloud where it is dueling with larger rival Amazon.com Inc ( AMZN.O ) to control the still fledgling market. Its jump in revenue underscores how businesses around the world are turning to new applications in the cloud and leaving once critical software programs and other hardware in the dust. Shares of Microsoft rose as much as 6.2 percent to $60.79 in after-hours trading. They later pared gains to $60.43, still adding nearly $25 billion to its market value.

Seeking to improve use of ICT, drive digital inclusion and provide better citizen services, Andhra Pradesh Government signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Microsoft India during a breakfast meeting hosted by Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu for technology giant's CEO Satya Nadella at the former's residence here on Monday. According to the MoU, Microsoft India will provide technical knowledge to A.P. Government and support building three proof-of-concept (PoC) solutions by applying Microsoft Azure Machine Learning and Advanced Visualization method in the fields of education, agriculture and eCitizen services. The PoC solutions will be built and deployed to address specific problems within each of the fields to achieve better outcomes for the State. It would use the lab method for data gathering, analysis, predictive analysis and policy planning, according to an official release from the Chief Minister's office. Continuing its commitment to support t

MUMBAI, :   Ever since Satya Nadella took over as the Chief Executive Officer of Microsoft he has brought in huge changes to the way the company saw things. Having missed technological shifts to newer rivals such as Google and Facebook, Nadella is on an overdrive to ensure that Microsoft stays ahead of the innovation curve. In a roundtable with select media, Nadella spoke about his vision. Edited excerpts: The Central government has launched various initiatives such as Make in India, Digital India. What’s your view on the envisioned success of these programmes? As a company, Microsoft is in it for the long term. Because when you think about the country and about the trajectory, I look at not only what’s happening in the government, but also what is happening in the private sector, what is happening in the broader economy as a whole, and that’s where my optimism comes from. Our economic model is fundamentally about digital technology in the hands of others — be it small