At an event in Bangalore today, Microsoft and Flipkart announced a strategic partnership to expand ecommerce in India. Both Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and Flipkart Group CEO Binny Bansal were present at the event. Launched in 2007, Flipkart is India’s largest e-commerce marketplace with over 100 million customers offering more than 80 million products across 80+ categories.
As a first step in the broad collaboration between the two companies, Flipkart will adopt Microsoft Azure as its exclusive public cloud platform. Microsoft Azure will add a layer of advanced cloud technologies and analytics to Flipkart’s existing datacentres.
“At Microsoft, we aim to empower every Indian and every Indian organization with technology and key to this is forging strategic partnerships with innovative companies like Flipkart. Combining Microsoft’s cloud platform and AI capabilities with Flipkart’s existing services and data assets, will enable Flipkart to accelerate its digital transformation in e-commerce and deliver new customer experiences.”
– Satya Nadella, CEO, Microsoft
Flipkart also plans to leverage artificial intelligence, machine learning, and analytics capabilities in Azure, such as Cortana Intelligence Suite and Power BI, to optimize its data for innovative merchandising, advertising, marketing, and customer service.
In a statement, Bansal shared that Microsoft’s strong reputation in cloud computing, coupled with scale and reliability, will allow this partnership to make online shopping more relevant and enriching for customers.