Microsoft’s (NASDAQ:MSFT) Azure Space wants to attract commercial and government space business through partnerships that currently include helping to connect/deploy new services using low-orbit spacecraft proposed by Elon Musk’s Space X.
“We have brought together a team of renowned space industry veterans to work alongside our world-class product engineers and scientists to build cloud capabilities that meet the unique needs of space. Our innovation areas include simulating space missions, discovering insights from satellite data, and fueling innovation both on the ground and in orbit,” writes Tom Keane, VP of Microsoft Azure Global.
The tech giant’s push comes three months after top rival Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) Web Services launched its space-focused initiative, which has already signed up Maxar Technologies and Capella Space as customers.
Other than SpaceX, Microsoft announces expanding its agreement with SES SA, which operates a network of satellites farther from earth. Existing partners include KSAT, Viasat, Kratos, AMERGINT, KubOS and US Electrodynamics. Find out more about each partnership here.
SpaceX teaming with Microsoft makes sense since Amazon’s Jeff Bezos owns a competing rocket company, Blue Origin, and is also pursuing low-orbit satellites.
Context: The newest rivalry comes as global cloud spending surged in Q2 due to the pandemic-related lockdowns and work from home trend. Amazon Web Services held 31% of the total spend and Microsoft reached 20% for the first time, according to Canalys data.
