The Lure of Azure
With the announcement of Windows Azure, Microsoft has awoken to the trend towards software as a service, otherwise known as cloud computing. This new product line will allow companies to “subscribe” to Microsoft’s software offerings, and use them over a network instead of hosting the applications on local machines. Although thin on specific details, the company’s chief software architect Ray Ozzie stated that Azure represents “a transformation of our offerings across the board”, hinting that the software will encompass all of their mainstream Office products.
When I wrote in on this topic in August, I was optimistic that cloud computing was the wave of the future for enterprise applications, but I questioned whether mainstreaming would occur anytime soon. Azure will certainly accelerate that timeline. And even though Azure is an obvious reaction to Google Apps, I like Microsoft’s chances. Microsoft enjoys a virtual stranglehold on the industry with their Office suite, and it will be a long, expensive and arduous process for any company to surmount the monopoly. Furthermore, Google Apps is yet to impress. Although Google is synonymous with innovation, they did a poor job of building products to truly compete with Microsoft Office. For example, their spreadsheet program lacks critical functionality for power users. Finally, the day is still far away from when large companies move to a pure cloud computing environment. Microsoft already has the locally installed Office to ease that transition, and in fact may bolster functionality due to compatibility between Azure and Office.
Whoever wins, the end result of this race between Google and Microsoft should drastically benefit the end user. It’s been too long since Office has had a legitimate heir to its throne, and Google Apps has clearly lit the flame under Microsoft’s you-know-what.
October 28th, 2008 at 5:46 pm
[…] The Lure of Azure And even though Azure is an obvious reaction to Google Apps, I like Microsoft’s chances. Microsoft enjoys a virtual stranglehold on the industry with their Office suite, and it will be a long, expensive and arduous process for any … […]