Microsoft has released FY14 Q2 earnings, citing record revenue of $24.52 billion for the quarter ended December 31, 2013. Commercial revenue grew 10 percent to $12.67 billion with SQL Server continuing to gain market share and revenue growing double-digits—SQL Server Premium revenue grew over 25 percent.
During the earnings call Question and Answer discussion, Amy Hood, Microsoft Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President, was asked what she thought was driving the SQL Server market share gain.
Continuing to Innovate
Hood stated, ". . . the real value proposition of SQL has been the breadth of its offerings: analytics, reporting, and core database functionality. And so over the years, I think the balance of those things, and continuing to add and innovate at very good value, has continued to be appealing.
"And as we move forward and add some cloud capabilities to our hybrid model, and continue to add features into the premium levels, when you’re the established, and I think in many ways unit leader, then you can focus on continuing to move up the stack, adding value, and increasing your premium mix. And the team has really done a terrific job of doing that, so it’s nice to be asked, so that I can talk about it."
Big Data & SQL Server 2014
Addressing big data, Hood mentioned the upcoming release of SQL Server 2014, explaining how it builds on the momentum Microsoft has established. "Offering a complete business intelligence solution for big data, SQL Server is driving significant in-memory performance gains. Additionally, it enables hybrid cloud solutions with cloud backup and disaster recovery, as well as providing enhanced availability and security," Hood stated.
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