MSCI Inc and Microsoft Corp have formed a strategic alliance to accelerate innovation in the global investment industry, a statement from the two companies said. By combining the power of Microsoft’s cloud and artificial intelligence technologies with MSCI’s global reach through its portfolio of investment decision support tools, the companies aim to unlock new innovations for the industry and enhance investor experience.

Initially, the companies will focus on migrating MSCI’s existing products, data and services onto Azure as its preferred cloud platform in stages, starting with its index and analytics solutions followed by its environmental, social and governance (ESG) products and ratings;  real estate data and solutions; and risk analytics platform Beon. By modernizing MSCI’s data and analytics services and infrastructure, the companies aim to deliver new capabilities that will help investors more swiftly and efficiently manage data and understand the drivers of risk and performance.

The companies will also explore collaboration opportunities to drive climate risk and ESG solutions, leveraging Microsoft’s Azure and Power Platform and MSCI’s ESG and climate solutions capabilities. This is intended to help investors better understand and interpret the business risks and opportunities that climate change brings.

“Investors’ needs to rapidly innovate and adapt as strategies and business models evolve, build and manage big data, and improve operational efficiencies are growing at a critical speed around the world,” says MSCI chairman and CEO Henry Fernandez. “Our strategic alliance with Microsoft underscores MSCI’s commitment to driving relentless innovation in the technology of our products and services to help investors achieve their desired investment outcomes.”

“Investors rely on cutting-edge technologies to deliver intelligent insights, manage risk and detect anomalies so they can help customers achieve their investment goals,” says Scott Guthrie, executive vice president of Cloud+AI at Microsoft. “By harnessing the power of Azure and its AI capabilities, together with MSCI’s expertise and position within the investment ecosystem, we will be able to accelerate new innovations that help investors better optimize their clients’ performance capabilities.”