Microsoft reveals UK Azure, Office 365 and cloud growth stats

Vendor also divulges that it spent $6m on UK partner tools and programmes last year, as well as $23m on marketing and $83m on advertising

Microsoft has made $220m (£164m) worth of investments in the UK channel in the last year and has seen double-digit growth across its cloud portfolio, it has revealed.

At a UK keynote at its Worldwide Partner Conference in Toronto, Microsoft UK gave the 500 partners who attended from the UK a progress report on the regional business.

CRN was not invited to attend the session, but Microsoft UK published the figures discussed there on its partner Twitter account.

Earlier this week at WPC, Microsoft's UK general manager for small and mid-market partners and solutions Clare Barclay told CRN that the firm is encouraging partners to invest in their own IP and managed services, and said there could be opportunities presented by Brexit, although the company had made public its desire for the UK to remain in the EU before the referendum.

Key statistics for Microsoft UK

• 114% - Azure growth
• 52% - 'all up' Office 365 growth
• 70% - year-on-year growth across cloud portfolio
• 25,000 - number of UK partners
• 576,112 - number of partner-focused employees
• 11,000 - number of Microsoft apprentices

Investments in the UK

• $23m - marketing
• $83m - advertising
• $6m - partner tools and programmes
• $2m - training
• $106m - incentives