Arab Press

بالشعب و للشعب
Wednesday, Oct 01, 2025

How every company could become a 'tech' company

How every company could become a 'tech' company

These days nearly every company is, or is in the process of becoming, a technology company. Major retailers have mobile apps and robust e-commerce platforms. Banks are getting into cryptocurrency. Grocery stores no longer expect customers to come inside to shop -they can place an order online and pick it up outside the store, or have it delivered right to their homes.
All kinds of companies are developing and using technology to make their operations more efficient and their products and services more attractive to consumers.

Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft (MSFT), knows the world of digital enterprises particularly well.

Speaking at the recent AT&T Business Summit, Nadella offered some advice for companies looking to make a digital transformation.

"One of the things I think a lot about is: If we use this term that every company is a digital company, every company is a software company, what does it mean?" Nadell said. "How does one create that digital strategy inside of any enterprise, across any vertical or industry? The formula I think about is what I describe as 'tech intensity.'"

First, he said, companies need to be early adopters of new technology to power their businesses, so they don't waste time or money later trying to get out from behind the curve. Then companies need to cultivate the ability to develop their own "digital IP," building exclusive software and tools that only their customers have access to.

"You don't want to be caught up in spending your scarce resources on what is essentially something that can be available as a commodity. You want to bring in the commodity, and build your own IP," Nadella said.

The final piece of the puzzle, Nadella said, is that companies must develop technology that both they and their customers can trust — relying on credible suppliers and building security into new products.

Nadella said he thinks of it like a math formula: "Tech adoption" times "tech capability," multiplied "to the power of trust."
"This is what I feel every company needs to do to become a software company," he said.

Of course, it makes sense that Nadella would be doling out such advice. In recent years, Microsoft has shifted some of its focus away from its Windows operating system and devoted more resources to developing web-based enterprise technologies. The company's business model largely relies on enterprises wanting to become tech companies, and using Microsoft products and services to do it.

That's especially true when it comes to new technologies such as the cloud business, where Microsoft is competing with industry giant Amazon Web Services to convince businesses and government agencies to entrust their data storage to its Azure cloud. It was handed a big win last month when the US Department of Defense awarded a $10 billion cloud services contract to Microsoft Azure over AWS.

Nadella said that fueling others' digital transformations has been part of his vision for Microsoft since he became CEO in 2014. He said that as only the third chief executive in Microsoft's history behind Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer, and the first without what he called "founder status" at the company, he felt he needed to establish a sense of purpose that would define his leadership.

"That's what led me all the way back to the origin of the company," Nadella said. "We were a tools company, a platform company ... If we stick to what we were really meant to do, which is to create technology so that you can create technology, we'll be okay. So that's why I went back to say, 'let's have that and be proud of that and let's be grounded in that sense of purpose.'"

Nadella said there are three major technological shifts that companies today will have to harness in the coming years in order to succeed as digital enterprises: the ability to have powerful computing capabilities in many different kinds of devices, artificial intelligence that will make sense of all the data generated from that computing, and the fact that people all have multiple devices that interface with their various senses, such as smart speakers and augmented-reality glasses.

Developing artificial intelligence technology has been one of Nadella's top priorities during his time as CEO, and it's one of the key selling points of the Azure cloud.

"These three trends compound -computing is everywhere, every experience is powered by AI and we live in a multi-sense, multi-device world," Nadella said. "And the question is: What does it mean for retail? What does it mean for hospitality? What does it mean for healthcare?"
Newsletter

Related Articles

Arab Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
UK, Canada, and Australia Officially Recognise Palestine in Historic Shift
Dubai Property Boom Shows Strain as Flippers Get Buyer’s Remorse
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
UAE-US Stargate Project Poised to Make Abu Dhabi a Global AI Powerhouse
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Kuwait opens bidding for construction of three cities to ease housing crunch.
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Trump Backs Putin’s Land-for-Peace Proposal Amid Kyiv’s Rejection
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
Iranian Protection Offers Chinese Vehicle Shipments a Cost Advantage over Japanese and Korean Makers
United States Sells Luxury Yacht Amadea, Valued at Approximately $325 Million, in First Sale of a Seized Russian Yacht Since the Invasion of Ukraine
Saudi Arabia accelerates renewables to curb domestic oil use
Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodríguez announce engagement
Asia-Pacific dominates world’s busiest flight routes, with South Korea’s Jeju–Seoul corridor leading global rankings
Private Welsh island with 19th-century fort listed for sale at over £3 million
Sam Altman challenges Elon Musk with plans for Neuralink rival
×