Microsoft is partnering with the telecom industry to power 5G, cloud and edge technologies.

Microsoft Azure is currently the second most popular cloud platform. Despite this, Microsoft has been making inroads into a number of industries, and has set its sights on the telecom industry.

The telecom industry promises to be a lucrative market for cloud providers, especially with the rollout of 5G. The new wireless technology promises to revolutionize cloud computing, as well as edge computing.

Today starts a new chapter in our close collaboration with the telecommunications industry to unlock the power of 5G and bring cloud and edge closer than ever,” writes Jason Zander Executive Vice President, Microsoft Azure. “We’re building a carrier-grade cloud and bringing more Microsoft technology to the operator’s edge. This, in combination with our developer ecosystem, will help operators to future proof their networks, drive down costs, and create new services and business models.

In Microsoft, operators get a trusted partner who will empower them to unlock the potential of 5G. Enabling them to offer a range of new services such as ultra-reliable low-latency connectivity, mixed reality communications services, network slicing, and highly scalable IoT applications to transform entire industries and communities.

Should Microsoft gain significant traction in this market, it will be another arena where it will be able to substantially challenge market-leader AWS.