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Becoming Microsoft CEO was beyond my dreams: Nadella

Last updated on: March 21, 2014 09:12 IST
Microsoft Founder Bill Gates and the new CEO Satya Nadella.

Becoming Microsoft CEO was beyond even the wildest dreams, said Satya Nadella, India-born chief executive of the $78-billion global software giant.

"Having grown up in India, the idea that I would have the opportunity to talk to all of you as chief executive officer of Microsoft was beyond my wildest dreams.

"Admittedly, my interests at that time were a bit more focused on cricket than on technology," Nadella said at the Microsoft Windows Azure Cloud Conference, 2014.

His speech was video-cast to a gathering of developers, business and technology decision makers and IT professionals.    

Nadella replaced Steve Ballmer as the CEO of Microsoft in February.

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Becoming Microsoft CEO was beyond my dreams: Nadella

Last updated on: March 21, 2014 09:12 IST
(From left) Bill Gates with Satya Nadella (centre) and the former CEO Steve Ballmer.

"I believe the opportunities ahead for India with the Azure cloud platform are tremendous and I encourage you to seize all of them," he said.

Windows Azure is an open and flexible cloud platform.

It enables quick deployment and management of applications across a global network of Microsoft-managed data centres.           

"It is amazing though, to think of the advancement in technology over the past few years and the opportunity for developers in India today," Nadella, an electrical engineering graduate from Mangalore University, said.

Nadella is the only third CEO after Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer in the 38-year old history of Microsoft.

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Becoming Microsoft CEO was beyond my dreams: Nadella

Last updated on: March 21, 2014 09:12 IST
An aerial view of Microsoft's main campus in Redmond, Washington.

"We are at a pivotal time in our industry -- living in and developing for a mobile first, cloud first world," he said.           

Nadella, who joined Microsoft in 1992, had earlier served as the Executive Vice President of Cloud and Enterprise Group.

Stating that Azure is a powerful platform for the entire Indian ecosystem of IT professionals, developers and start-ups to bring their applications to markets worldwide, he said: "It helps Indian customers leapfrog to the cloud, and accrue significant cost savings."

"It provides a unique opportunity for our partners to scale their business," he added.

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