Microsoft Pledges to Use ARM Server Chips, Threatening Intel's Dominance

Microsoft Corp. is committing to use chips based on ARM Holdings Plc technology in the machines that run its cloud services, potentially imperiling Intel Corp.’s longtime dominance in the profitable market for data-center processors.

Microsoft has developed a version of its Windows operating system for servers using ARM processors, working with Qualcomm Inc. and Cavium Inc. The software maker is now testing these chips for tasks like search, storage, machine learning and big data, said Jason Zander, vice president of Microsoft's Azure cloud division. The company isn’t yet running the processors -- known for being more power-efficient and offering more choice in vendors -- in any customer-facing networks, and wouldn't specify how widespread they eventually will be.

"It's not deployed into production yet, but that is the next logical step," Zander said in an interview. "This is a significant commitment on behalf of Microsoft. We wouldn't even bring something to a conference if we didn't think this was a committed project and something that's part of our road map."