Toni Townes-Whitley, president of U.S. regulated industries at Microsoft, said the coronavirus pandemic has prompted regulated-industry companies and governments to accelerate the migration to the cloud as they advance the adoption of collaboration tools and field virtual desktops, Business Insider reported Monday.
"COVID-19 has fast-tracked this modern cloud-technology adoption at speeds that are unprecedented in the history of our nation," she told the publication.
She cited the government’s dependence on data and digital tools during the pandemic.
"Relying on digital technology and data has proved to be a necessity — not a luxury — for government during this time," Townes-Whitley said. "Restarting economies successfully will be a defining moment for government leaders."
According to the report, Townes-Whitley helped Microsoft secure the Department of Defense’s Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure cloud contract in October 2019 and now helps advance the company’s efforts to provide cloud platforms to governments and companies in health care and financial services industries.