Above C-level

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.

Rock the Vote is an organization that began in 1992 to raise political awareness amongst American young adults, primarily those aged 18 to 24. Madonna, Puff Daddy (now P Diddy) and Snoop Dogg, along with numerous other pop culture icons, all participated in the campaign at one time or another. Unfortunately though, as altruistic and seemingly sensible the cause appears, it has been nothing short of a colossal failure. Since 1992, voter turnout of 18 to 24 year olds during presidential elections has been on steady decline with the exception of the latest one in 2004 which saw a near 10% spike. Even at that, however, the figures of this age group paled in comparison to the overall population by at least 20% in each and every election over that time frame.

Enter Microsoft, who announced a partnership last week with Rock the Vote that will allow Xbox 360 owners to register to vote, participate in presidential polls and voice their opinions to the presidential candidates. According to the press release, Xbox LIVE is the largest online social network connected to a television with over 12 million users. Sure some of the 12 million users are not Rock the Vote’s target age range, but credit Microsoft (who is not exactly the spokesperson for young America) with seizing an excellent opportunity to expand their brand and push for a good cause at the same time.

The question remains however: is this enough? In my opinion it’s never enough. Republican, Democrat or Independent, the job won’t be complete until 100% of eligible American citizens cast their vote. However, combine this move with the emergence of other online social networks since 2004 such as Facebook (who also has a dedicated Rock the Vote group), and you have the recipe for some potentially interesting voter turnout results in 2008.

And let’s not forget one additional measure of success: maybe Microsoft will sell more Xboxes.