Microsoft's UK CEO speaks out in Twitter Q&A

Michel van der Bel talks KPIs, the future of the enterprise and building a personal brand

Microsoft's UK chief executive Michel van der Bel has revealed during a Twitter Q&A session that cloud transformation and "empowering Britain" are among his key business priorities.

His stint on the social network saw van der Bel take questions from fellow Twitter users for an hour yesterday afternoon.

He was quizzed on a range of issues during the session, including what he sees as Microsoft UK's top-three KPIs.

"Thanks for [the] question. 1. Cloud transformation. 2. Best place to work. 3. Empowering Britain #AskMichel"," he replied.

Microsoft's UK boss is among a small number of technology CEOs on Twitter. Microsoft's global boss Satya Nadella has beefed up his presence since taking the top job in 2014, and Michael Dell and Salesforce boss Marc Benioff are also regular tweeters.

Van der Bel was asked what his message would be to other CEOs who have yet to be convinced of the value of a presence on social media.

He replied: "Like me, it's getting over your reservations and trying it out," adding that comments on Twitter can be "better received" than on email.

Social media is one of the four megatrends Microsoft has been keen to talk up in recent years, along with cloud, big data and mobile. Digital marketing has become another core focus for Microsoft. Just this week, it launched its 'Cloudstanding' cloud campaign in the UK after seeing success with it in the Netherlands.

Microsoft sparked debate last year when suggesting digital marketing is the way forward, with so-called traditional methods such as email and events slowly dying out.

During his Twitter session, he outlined what he thinks will be the most critical area of technology for the enterprise in the coming decade.

"In the coming 10 years, data is the new currency," he answered. "Everything that is bringing data to life through insight."