Microsoft's Cloud Computing Strategy

Microsoft, in an ever increasingly competitive market, is once again using their current status as the two-ton gorilla of the software universe to make some noise as they enter the realm of cloud computing. With the release of Windows Office365, Microsoft is intending to make up ground in their battle with Google Inc. and after reporting more than $9 billion in revenue for the quarter ending June 30, 2011 Google clearly represents formidable competition. Windows Azure, a name intended to inspire images of clarity, cleanliness, and the boundlessness of the blue sky, is the platform which supports Microsoft's cloud based office package, among others.

Azure and the Microsoft cloud computing system are expected to be utilized more readily by start-ups and small businesses who may have previously housed large and expensive servers on premises. Incurring the burden of the costs associated with installation, maintenance, and inevitable repair of the delicate equipment required to fully support their software needs. Licensing fees also present considerable overhead for small companies looking to maximize profitability. With the pay as you go, consumption based pricing structure, Microsoft can afford to provide companies access to the programs built for Azure. Microsoft also offers the ability to store data and run applications reliably from the cloud; all for a low monthly fee entirely dependent on use. In addition to providing office products and flexible data storage, cloud computing services from Microsoft allows for access to important documents and programs from any device with an internet connection. Azure is making this new convenience possible and increasingly simple.

The company also gets the ease of use and familiarity of Windows Server with the added benefit of avoiding the initial start-up costs of building their own infrastructure. They can instead, use the existing hardware of the cloud, which is already up and running, being carefully maintained by experts. This capability will allow funds, normally allocated for servers and staff, to be spent on developing software and increasing a company's chances of being profitable sooner rather than later. Many established businesses, some of which are already accustomed to the Microsoft Server OS and to the traditional environment of Microsoft Office are also planning on transitioning to a cloud computing strategy for running applications and sensitive data storage. In an article titled Microsoft Rolls Out Office 365 in Cloud Computing Race, Brad Reback, an analyst at Oppenheimer and Co. says "The reality is that Microsoft already has these customers and should easily be able to retain them"

Microsoft is banking on the continued loyalty of the existing base of one-billion current global Office users to make the Azure platform, and the applications/storage capacity provided by it, the leading cloud computing solution.

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