Nadella calls for more 'tech intensity'

It's a message that will cheer the hearts of resellers with the boss of Microsoft urging customers to spend more on technology to ensure they can take advantage of the changing digital world.

Customers have been told that they need to have a "tech intensity" in order to ensure they are well positioned to take advantage of digital transformation.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella used his keynote at the Florida Ignite event to update developers and customers around what he saw coming down the line.

"Talking about the future we are well and truly into this era of the intelligent cloud and the intelligent edge," he said.

"What's really happening out there is computing is getting embedded in the real world. Every place, whether it be the home, or work, a stadium or a hospital has got computing. Every industry, whether it's oil and gas, retail, financial services, agritech, all are being transformed by digital technology. Every thing, whether it's a car, a fridge or the factor floor are getting connected and becoming intelligent," he added.

He said that the expansion of computing was creating opportunities across many areas and partners needed to make sure that they were helping customers use the latest technology and building capabilities.

He used the phrase "tech intensity" numerous times throughout his speech to urge anyone in doubt that the future would require more IT to banish those thoughts.

"Computing is not just about the computer industry but is about the entire world," he added "In order for us to capitalise on this paradigm shift we need tech intensity."

He said it was a simple equation that meant that tech adoption of the latest tech was high and "second we have got to build our own digital capability".

But there were words of warning to those that built things that could be offered by other providers as a commodity or to those that might jump into bed with cloud providers that would compete in another part of their business with the user.

"Picking your partners well is where I think the strategic definition of smart will come out," he said.