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The technology executive is moving on, known for his far-reaching tech developments that include everything from artificial intelligence to the Internet of Things. After 21 years at Microsoft, Tom Keane is leaving the Microsoft cloud team. His latest role included overseeing a team of over 600 engineers in 15 countries and not telling how many in-the-works projects.

Keane’s history is long and densely packed with achievements. He was the core leader at Azure, leading a global team of professionals in developing The World’s computers. This project brought together numerous cutting-edge technologies, including artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things, to create a new frontier in the industry.

Fostering Innovation Through Countless Projects

Keane is noted for his numerous accomplishments, including his continued ability to foster technology in new ways. Perhaps his work was phenomenal because it wasn’t a single innovation or step but rather his ability to bring together people who, through collaboration, could create amazing solutions. To that extent, he is quoted as saying, “To this day, I am rarely the smartest person in the room – and when you work at a company with 190,000 employees, it’s almost impossible to be.”

Microsoft’s Tom Keane – An Award-Winning Executive

There are numerous ways that Tom Keane impacted the world around him. His executive credentials and his disciplined approach to business drove success for Microsoft for decades. Within Azure, Keane managed to build numerous new business opportunities for the company. This includes initiatives such as the first hyper-scale cloud in Africa and another in China. He led initiatives to include Azure Space, Azure Government Cloud in 2014, and cloud solutions for financial services.

He also helped create the Microsoft Vanguard Initiative, which helped 15,000 engineers come together to solve the company’s biggest challenges, including General Data Protection Regulation.

In 2021, he was honored by Microsoft as a Top 50 Executive and noted by WashingtonExec as a Cloud Industry Executive of the Year. From a financial standpoint, he helped deliver financial results as well. Microsoft’s cloud computing revenue, in particular, saw a massive 50% increase under his leadership in the first quarter of 2022. He has played a role at the forefront of entrepreneurial activities at Microsoft over the last two decades, continuously achieving new solutions for the already impressive company’s platform.

These achievements come from a place of innovation in leading teams and problem-solving. He is also heavily noted for his ability to achieve success through a results-driven approach to every project. As a business executive, Keane is noted for his ability to incubate new business from within, not just create new products or solutions. He said, “My organization is focused daily on delivering the solutions so that every customer, industry, and every country can adopt Azure to further their mission.”

Technical Credentials: Cloud Computing Product Expertise

Tom Keane brings with him a long list of achievements and skills. These technical credentials and expertise in cloud computing and product creation are at the forefront of the industry. He has a strong history of building innovative architecture to solve the world’s problems. Other areas of expertise include cyber security, digital sovereignty, and data and artificial intelligence application.

His work extends beyond Microsoft. In his early years, he worked in Australia, the United Kingdom, and then the United States. He built technology for numerous global markets, including national governments and commercial enterprises. He was a founding member of the Microsoft Office 365 engineering team, with a strong focus on developing the user experience in infrastructure components of the platform. He managed to grow the service from 80,000 users to 110 million end-users.

Thought Leadership and Industry Expertise

Tom Keane has provided the foundation of success for Microsoft Azure, but his reach has gone much further. He has contributed to the thought leaders in this industry, aiding in creating new ideas and innovations that are likely to impact the industry’s future for years to come.

This includes the focus on cloud computing, digital transformation, and artificial intelligence and how they will revolutionize the world we live in now. His insights have helped shape cyber sovereignty’s importance as these technologies come into play. His work in cyber sovereignty focused heavily on privacy, compliance, and data residency. This work was the foundation by which several European governments, intelligence operations, and U.S. defense organizations were leveraged.

He says of this work, “I’m particularly proud of the work my team and I have done for the U.S. government over the past couple of years. Since January 2020, we have launched – and achieved accreditation for – Azure Government Secret and Azure Government Top Secret cloud regions.”

Undoubtedly, all of his work, including financial services, government, defense, and critical infrastructure, will continue to play a role in how organizations protect themselves and their citizens.

He says, “What drives me is the ability to build and disrupt. Entrepreneurialism, constant learning, and growth have been a theme of my career for the last two decades. Digital disruption, enabled by hyper-scale cloud and ubiquitous computing, is only beginning. The digital disruption enables a new class of workloads and scenarios to be built.”

Tom Keane’s work is not done just yet. Leaving Microsoft after 21 years and countless achievements was not an easy decision. From starting Azure’s government cloud businesses in 2014 to his work in the Vanguard engineering process for the C+AI division, his career has been filled with success stories.

However, by taking that step, he is taking the next step in his career to building the World’s computers. His work within this project is likely to play an even bigger pivotal role in the future of the world’s technology on an even larger scale.