Microsoft and AT and amp;T added more power to their strategic partnership announced in July by revealing plans to offer Azure services on AT and amp;T’s growing 5G networks. The companies are also looking forward to making the preview available for Network Edge Compute (NEC) technology. It will help weave Microsoft Azure cloud services into AT and amp;T’s network edge locations, which are closer to customers.

In essence, AT and amp;T’s 5G core is now ready to deliver Azure services. And the companies’ initial plan is to make NEC available in Dallas for a limited set of customers. Next in the line is their target for Los Angeles and Atlanta’s select set of customers.

Early this year, Microsoft and AT and amp;T joined hands and stole the show from IBM that had broadcasted about a similar deal with AT and amp;T the day before.

While the operator will make use of Microsoft’s technology, it will be a preferred non-network application. The 2 tech giants mentioned several opportunities offered through 5G and amp; edge. Mobile gaming tops the priority list apart from the use of drones for virtual and augmented reality.

AT and amp;T’s cloud journey talks about turning to public cloud providers by committing migration of a host of non-network workloads by 2024.

Corey Sanders, Corporate Vice President, Microsoft Solutions, added, “We are helping AT and amp;T light up a wide range of unique solutions powered by Microsoft’s cloud, both for its business and our mutual customers in a secure and trusted way.”

The collaboration spreads across AT and amp;T and brings the hyperscale of Microsoft Azure with AT and amp;T’s network to revolutionize the power of 5G and network edge computing across a wide range of industries.

Another important aspect of AT and amp;T’s strategy is to empower its workforce with Microsoft 365, in areas such as cloud-connected Office apps on Windows 10, SharePoint, Microsoft Teams, and OneDrive. AT and amp;T has already begun rolling out such solutions for thousands of employees.

The tech alliance is all set to create newer technologies to benefit everyone.