Microsoft has reported major growth in its cloud product offering and a “slowdown in transactional licensing” in its Office, server and Windows product lines.

The company released the information as part of its financial report for the fourth quarter of its fiscal 2020, ended June 30.

Demand for on-premises Microsoft products appears to be dropping in favour of a shift to cloud-based versions. This acceleration could be in part a product of the Covid-19 pandemic which has forced more businesses to have staff working remotely.

The quarterly earnings report was released on the same day Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella addressed channel partners at the company’s Inspire 2020 global partner conference. He believes partners play a central role in driving company growth.

“For Microsoft to do well, you all as partners have to do well. That’s ingrained in our business model,” he said during the online-only conference. “That’s why I always talk about us being a partner-led company.”