Microsoft and advertising and communications firm WPP have expanded their longstanding partnership to launch the new Cloud Studio, which Microsoft says will “transform creative content production”. The Azure-based platform will enable greater collaboration between WPP teams around the world. 

According to Microsoft, “Cloud Studio is the advertising industry’s first bespoke platform for virtual production” that moves content creation, production and editing from on-premises environments and into the cloud.

“Digital technology is rapidly transforming every aspect of the media and advertising industry, including how content is produced,” said Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft. “Together with WPP, we will apply the power of Azure’s scalable, intelligent infrastructure to support next-generation content production and ensure thousands of WPP employees remain agile, collaborative and creative from anywhere.”

Over the next three years, WPP will roll out the platform to 5,000 employees, giving them easy access to production tools and services via Azure. Following that, the firm plans to expand the deployment to up to 25,000 users. 

“Technology is what powers WPP’s creativity; it allows us to realise our ideas, uncover insights and embrace innovative ways of working,” said Mark Read, CEO of WPP. “The pandemic has shown how WPP teams can successfully collaborate to create extraordinary work for our clients, all while being physically apart. Partnering with Microsoft on Cloud Studio is the next step in our journey to arm creative teams with the latest in cutting-edge production tools, and draw upon the best talent, regardless of where they are.”

The new cloud platform builds on the existing partnership between Microsoft and WPP which, for example, has delivered artificial intelligence solutions to provide customers with personalised content.
 

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