Microsoft Azure

Microsoft's cloud computing platform (announced October 2008 as Project Red Dog, launched February 2010 as Windows Azure, rebranded Microsoft Azure March 25, 2014), second-largest by market share behind AWS. Provides IaaS, PaaS, SaaS, management, access, and development of applications/services through global data centers. Supports diverse programming languages, tools, and frameworks, including Microsoft and third-party systems. Operates as major buyer of NVIDIA GPUs for AI compute, developer of custom Maia AI accelerators, and primary infrastructure provider for OpenAI.