Microsoft partners with enterprise mobile marketing and advertising firm inMobi

Microsoft and enterprise mobile platform provider inMobi announced a new partnership focused on Azure platform utilization and the expansion of inMobi's Marketing Cloud offering.

As part of the agreement, inMobi will "move in a phased manner to Microsoft Azure as its preferred cloud provider and tap into the power of its intelligent capabilities," according to a statement. The companies will also align on go-to-market strategy, with a plan for integrated advertising and marketing solutions to Microsoft's customer base.

The partnership with Microsoft also serves to help inMobi launch its Marketing Cloud, which will be rolling out globally over the next six months. It moves the company "beyond its pure-play advertising platform to a comprehensive and integrated suite of advertising and marketing platforms."

The companies are also looking to collaborate on other offerings, according to the statement. Those possibilities include integration with Microsoft Dynamics 365 and more Azure services like AI, machine, learning, and analytics.

Based in India, inMobi was founded in 2007 and took a growth trajectory early on, with expansion to multiple continents, venture funding, multiple acquisitions, and the expansion of its product and service offerings, primarily in the mobile ad space.

Though re-platforming on Azure would seem to be the key win for Microsoft in this deal, the two companies say they are also looking at additional opportunities in combining the power of InMobi's Advertising and Marketing Cloud capabilities with Microsoft Dynamics 365 on the back of the global Azure infrastructure, including AI, machine learning and analytics. The companies will also work in close cooperation on the go-to-market approach, offering these integrated advertising and marketing solutions to Microsoft's global enterprise client base.