Satya Nadella: Microsoft Teams Becoming ‘Critical Infrastructure’

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella is touting the company's software in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic....
Satya Nadella: Microsoft Teams Becoming ‘Critical Infrastructure’
Written by Matt Milano

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella is touting the company’s software in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic.

In an interview with CNBC, Nadella talked about the responsibility he felt toward keeping the company’s employees safe, and the wider role the company plays as “digital first responders.”

“I think at this point, the most important thing for us as a company, is to ensure the safety of our own employees,” said Nadella. “That’s, I think, the place where I start from. We have done everything to stay grounded in the public health guidance….

“This pandemic has no borders, and its cure is not going to have any borders. So we have to come together as a global community, and we have to do our part. I sort of describe our role as the ‘digital first responders’ to all the first responders. So, even if you take what’s happening with Microsoft Teams, it’s become critical infrastructure for people who are doing remote work. We’re seeing 60X increase in Teams’ usage, 900 million minutes a day. So, therefore, scaling—I’m very thankful to all the Microsoft employees who are really building all the critical infrastructure and scaling it.

“Similarly, we’re working with CDC in their pre-screening bot. Because one of the other challenges we face right now, is how do we take the load off of the healthcare system. So this pre-screening bot with CDC protocol is being used, even by Providence and others….

“The other thing that’s also happening is education. We have lots of students now with remote learning. And that’s another place where Microsoft is stepping up…how does one conduct remote learning? And one of the things we’re doing even today is taking the lessons we’ve always had in Minecraft Education and making them just part of the base game. Because when kids are at home, and parents are also getting involved in helping them stay with their education lesson plans, I think this can be a step forward.

“So we’re doing everything we can to help us work through this crisis, but it’s going to take all of us.”

Get the WebProNews newsletter delivered to your inbox

Get the free daily newsletter read by decision makers

Subscribe
Advertise with Us

Ready to get started?

Get our media kit

Advertise with Us