IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation that manufactures and markets computer hardware, middleware, and software, and offers infrastructure, hosting, and consulting services in areas ranging from mainframe computers to nanotechnology. IBM is intent on leading the development of a global data field.

Microsoft Azure is a Cloud Computing platform and infrastructure created by Microsoft for building, deploying, and managing applications and services through a global network of Microsoft-managed data centers. It provides both PaaS and IaaS services and supports many different programming languages, tools and frameworks, including both Microsoft-specific and third-party software and systems. Azure was announced in October 2008 and released on 1 February 2010 as Windows Azure, before being renamed to Microsoft Azure on 25 March 2014.