Global technology giant Microsoft Corp has announced to roll out a new round of technologies aimed at making its cloud computing services work in data centers it does not own – including the cloud data centers of its rivals.

The strategy is said to be a key in the company's rise in the cloud computing infrastructure market, which is estimated to hit $64.3 billion and where Microsoft is second only to market leader Amazon.com's Amazon Web Services.

Microsoft last week said revenue from Azure, its flagship cloud offering, grew 48%, results that helped it overtake Apple Inc as to the world's most valuable publicly-traded company.

Microsoft's strategy has meanwhile, involved constructing its most lucrative cloud software services, such as database tools so that they can run inside its own data centers, those owned by customers or even those of rivals like Amazon.

Microsoft's cloud and artificial intelligence chief Scott Guthrie said that the move has persuaded some customers to use its services when they cannot always use Microsoft's data centers.