Microsoft beats Wall Street view on high demand for cloud products

(Reuters) - Microsoft Corp reported quarterly revenue and profit that beat analysts' expectations, driven by aggressive cost cutting and growing demand for its cloud products and services. Microsoft, under Chief Executive Satya Nadella, has been focussing on cloud services and mobile applications as growth slows in its traditional software business. The cloud, in which growing numbers of companies move much of their information technology off premises, proved a bright spot for the Redmond, Wash.