Microsoft Inks Three Partnerships in the Name of Empowerment, Company Exec Says
*By Amanda Weston*
Microsoft inked three major partnerships in just one month ー and each union has a common theme, according to the company's executive vice president of worldwide commercial business.
"I think to sum it up, we're about empowerment," Judson Althoff told Cheddar. "We're about empowering our customers to achieve their potential."
On Jan. 15, Microsoft ($MSFT) and WBA teamed up to improve health care for customers.
Just about a week earlier, Microsoft and Kroger opened up two digital stores. Customers can use the Scan, Bag, and Go app to use their shopping lists to find the most efficient way around the store.
The company's latest deal involved Albertsons. As part of the [three-year agreement](https://www.cnbc.com/2019/01/23/microsoft-signs-cloud-deal-with-albertsons.html), the supermarket chain will make Microsoft's Azur its preferred public cloud.
"We couldn't be more excited about the recent partnership that we announced with Walgreens and Walgreens Boots Alliance, not just because it'll enable us to help them transform their business and how they engage in retail, but frankly what it stands to bear for the promise of the entire health care industry," Althoff said.
"Lower health care costs, better care have often been the promise of this industry, and we are really excited that our technology can actually enable WBA to deliver that and make it a reality for consumers around the world."
The tech giant has seen significant momentum with the cloud. It currently works with major brands like Starbucks ($SBUX), Volkswagen, and Walmart ($WMRT), to help grow their businesses. The company said more than 95 percent of Fortune 500 companies have Microsoft Cloud.
But Althoff said it's only the beginning.
"We're excited about the momentum that we're seeing right now and we're bullish about the future," he said. "You have to keep in mind that we're really sort of just a few minutes into the first quarter of this cloud evolution in the market that you're seeing right now."
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/microsoft-gains-cloud-momentum-with-new-health-partnership).
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Boeing workers at three Midwest plants where military aircraft and weapons are developed have voted to reject the company’s latest contract offer and to continue a strike that started almost three months ago. The strike by about 3,200 machinists at the plants in the Missouri cities of St. Louis and St. Charles, and in Mascoutah, Illinois, is smaller in scale than a walkout last year by 33,000 Boeing workers who assemble commercial jetliners. The president of the International Association of Machinists says Sunday's outcome shows Boeing hasn't adequately addressed wages and retirement benefits. Boeing says Sunday's vote was close with 51% of union members opposing the revised offer.
The stunning indictment that led to the arrest of more than 30 people — including Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and other NBA figures — has drawn new scrutiny of the booming business of sports betting in the U.S. The multibillion-dollar industry has made it easy for sports fans — and even some players — to wager on everything from the outcome of games to that of a single play with just a few taps of a cellphone. But regulating the rapidly-growing industry has proven to be a challenge. Professional sports leagues’ own role in promoting gambling has also raised eyebrows.
Tesla, the car company run by Elon Musk, reported Wednesday that it sold more vehicles in the past three months after boycotts hit hard earlier this year, but profits still fell sharply. Third-quarter earnings fell to $1.4 billion, from $2.2 billion a year earlier. Excluding charges, per share profit of 50 cents came in below analysts' estimate. Tesla shares fell 3.5% in after-hours trading. Musk said the company's robotaxi service, which is available in Austin, Texas, and San Francisco, will roll out to as many as 10 other metro areas by the end of the year.
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