The first day of Microsoft Inspire largely focused on how the Microsoft community had come together to help provide solutions for the current COVID-19 affected world. On Day 2, Microsoft Chief Executive Officer, Satya Nadella, urged Microsoft’s partners to think about what they could do next to help the world.
As Nadella said, what comes next won’t be “business as usual” as we had previously thought of it. While people have started returning to their offices in some cases, it seems that won’t be the future for everybody. Debates are raging about whether schools should open. Some businesses have sent people back home. Life is continuing to change, and the future is unclear.
This has led to an evolution in technology. Telehealth is thriving – and proving successful, as Nadella noted. There is the potential for other industries to do the same, but, Nadella said, the technology soluions need to be provided to make that possible.
Nadella urged Microsoft’s partners to embrace “tech intensity” – that is to embrace the current evolution of technology within companies to drive innovation and transformation for businesses. He spoke of the new opportunity to channel intelligent edge and intelligent cloud to tech intensity for every business – not just the biggest businesses. Businesses of all sizes are struggling at the moment and all are deserving of help.
It was this message of innovating to help others that Nadella conveyed. All of society could benefit from the innovations that the technology world can provide.
A Better World
Evolutions in technology to help others wasn’t the only focus of the Day 2 keynotes. Microsoft President Brad Smith spoke at length about Microsoft’s upcoming efforts to better the world – aiming to become carbon negative, rolling out sustainability requirements in the Microsoft supply chain, and instituting an internal carbon tax. As a company, Microsoft is taking concrete steps to remove a million metric tons of carbon from the environment over the next 12 months. Nadella, meanwhile, spoke about the continued efforts to remove unconscious bias and provide opportunities for all – both at Microsoft and beyond.
