Microsoft is reportedly investing in this technology to offer a better version that can be implemented by any retailer and Walmart was one of the first choices for test driving it. Amazon has a lead in this segment with its flagship Amazon Go store in Seattle that enables easy shopping minus the queues. The deal, however, did not specify anything about Walmart's cashier-free stores. Azure's AI and ML capabiltiies will also help Walmart in building a global IoT platform that can reduce energy consumptions and intelligently route trucks in the supply chain. Microsoft will be deploying dedicated engineers to Walmart who will assist in transitioning existing applications to the cloud. These include Microsoft Workspace Analytics, Microsoft Stream, and Microsoft OneDrive alongside Office 365 and Azure. Walmart will be equipping all its branches with Microsoft 365 services in a phased manner.
The deal is being seen as a huge shot in the arm for both Walmart and Microsoft who would like to snatch a sizeable chunk of Amazon's market share in both cloud and retail. The deal gives Walmart access to Microsoft Azure cloud services, Microsoft 365, and artificial intelligence and machine learning capabilities to help drive sales and innovation. Microsoft and Walmart have entered into a five year-long partnership that helps the latter to fully capitalize on the former's cloud and enterprise expertise.