Interview with Najat Messaoud

The cloud — an answer to everything?

Najat Messaoud, who as Senior Director Azure Business Group at Microsoft Germany is responsible for the growth of Azure Solution Business in Germany, talks to our CCO Frederic Bauerfeind about current cloud topics. What is striking about this is that it is not just about the cloud as a technology.

Of course, the technological options for integrating the cloud and using appropriate services play a role in the half-hour conversation. But both cloud experts clearly focus on the human factor and the cultural changes that a company must go through in order to remain innovative and fit for the future. Microsoft Germany itself has undergone an enormous cultural change in recent years. When asked exactly how this status, which is now lived in the company, can be established as a status quo in medium-sized companies, Najat talks a lot about how the tech giant works.

“I think we have a lot in common with our customers.”
Najat Messaoud, Senior Director Azure Business Group, Microsoft Germany

“I think we have a lot in common with our customers. We are a company that lives with tradition, i.e. has to deal with a legacy business as well. We have a business that is almost 50 years old and have customers out there who have been doing business for more than 100 years. We had to go through our own transformation. We too had a crisis and a need to remain relevant to the market.” This also included turning the business model on the left.

Promoting digital skills in companies

It recommends promoting digital skills in companies, making data accessible and providing structures. There is much cultural change that needs to be made. Technologies should become more tangible and usable. That is exactly what Generation Z, which is now entering the labor market, is demanding. The affinity for technology is much greater here than in the established working world.

“The cloud is probably not the answer to everything, but to a few things,” Najat sums it up at the end. In her opinion, the cloud should be used to take advantage of the challenges that customers have. Microsoft, together with its partners, is involved in this journey at all times and tries to help whenever possible. The digital world is not being turned back: “Analysts predict that 65 percent of Europe's gross domestic product will already be generated from digital products and services this year. For me, it's a symbol that there is no turning back. There can only be one way forward.” Companies could only take this path forward if they recognize the added value that the cloud brings them.

Watch the entire interview with Najat and Frederic in our video:

‍