Microsoft forecast suggests gloomy tech environment will continue [Video]

Microsoft executives on Tuesday told analysts to expect a continuation of the weak pace of business that emerged in December, which hurt the software maker’s fiscal second quarter results.

“In our commercial business we expect business trends that we saw at the end of December to continue into Q3,” Amy Hood, Microsoft’s chief financial officer, said on a conference call.

In particular, the company saw less growth than expected in Microsoft 365 productivity software subscriptions, identity and security services, and business-oriented Windows products.

Growth in consumption of the company’s cloud computing service Azure also slowed down, she said.

The company sells products such as Xbox consoles and Surface PCs to consumers, but most of its revenue comes from commercial clients such as companies, schools, and governments. That’s where the impact will show up. A metric dubbed Microsoft Cloud — including Azure, commercial subscriptions to Microsoft 365, commercial LinkedIn services and Dynamics 365 enterprise software — …