Boeing will adopt Microsoft Azure for many of the commercial analytical aviation applications that the aerospace giant has built for more than 300 airlines and related companies, the companies said today.

The high-profile partnership, between two of the Seattle region’s corporate giants, is a notable win for Microsoft’s cloud computing platform, which competes against Seattle-based Amazon Web Services. Chicago-based Boeing also runs its commercial airplanes business out of the Seattle region.

The move to the cloud “will accelerate predictive maintenance and flight optimization, helping airlines save money and improve efficiency,” Kevin Crowley, Boeing’s vice president of digital aviation, said in a statement.

On a grander level, the collaboration — involving Azure services including Cortana Intelligence and the Internet of Things (IoT) suite — will enable “a great potential between the connected traveler, the connected airplane and the connected operation,” said Andrew Gendreau, Boeing’s director of advanced information solutions, in an interview.

“Moving these apps to the cloud is tactical as well as strategic,” Gendreau explained. “Tactically, we wanted to speed the process of acquiring and analyzing data and getting it back to customers as usable results. It lets us scale more easily and adds reliability and performance. In terms of strategy, we wanted to work with a technology leader to help us tackle our grander vision of digital aviation.”

Commercial aviation is “the ultimate IoT puzzle,” he added. “IoT and sensor technology have evolved so much over the past couple of years that the vision of digital aviation is a lot closer to reality now.”

Choosing Microsoft capped a six-month needs analysis, Gendreau said. Using a single cloud provider, rather than several, made the most sense to Boeing, he said. Though the company works with other cloud companies including AWS and CenturyLink, it chose Microsoft for several reasons, he said. Its technology equals that of any competitor, it has a strong brand like Boeing, it has “a very compelling and complementary vision of how to work together with us,” and it has strength in back-office and communications apps such as Office 365 that could play a role in the apps it turns out.

Airlines worldwide spend about $700 billion on operating costs and garner about the same amount in revenue, Gendreau said, and moving to the cloud will improve their margins.

Boeing and subsidiaries AerData and Jeppesen have built applications used by more than 300 airlines, airplane leasing companies and maintenance suppliers for tasks including fleet maintenance, inventory management, route planning, training and scheduling crews and buying and leasing planes and engines, Boeing said.

AerData, with offices in the Netherlands and the U.K., makes software for lease management, engine fleet planning, records scanning and technical and back-office services for aircraft and engine operators and lessors, according to its website. Jeppesen, of Englewood, Colo., makes software aimed at improving aviation efficiency.