A little something extra…
Several people have asked us recently about Microsoft Azure and Microsoft’s cloud strategy. A little while ago, James Governor pointed out that Microsoft seemed to have been trying to figure out who in Microsoft would “own” cloud computing. And it seemed, James said, that Bob Muglia’s group ended up with it. As your little something extra today, here’s a recent response along those lines I sent to a reporter asking after Microsoft and cloud:
Microsoft is well positioned with Azure. Now that the internal decision process of where cloud should reside has been resolved (in Bob Muglia’s Server and Tools Business), there’s less distraction in figuring out if Microsoft’s answer to the cloud will be consumer-centric (more the Ray Ozzie line of thought) and business centric.
Muglia’s group has done well executing of late, and they seem to have clamped down old school Microsoft style on Azure. They identified their core strength – millions of “Microsoft developers” – and have delivered a cloud offering along those lines – a platform as a service, a development platform.
This differentiates Microsoft’s cloud offering from Amazon (which is purely at the infrastructure, operations, “build it yourself” level), Salesforces (tailored more towards ERP and application extensions), and Google’s (not too business oriented). Others like IBM and HP are more interesting in tooling private clouds, where as Microsoft seems very keen on delivering a new way for general software developers to deliver applications over the public Internet.
For more on Azure, check out the three interviews I did with Microsofties on the topic back at MIX 2009.
The Links
- Monty Responds
- Upbeat CEOs to Drive '10 M&A
- Google Opens up – about Google's Opennness
- Sun Reductions Will Hit Open Source Efforts
An unnamed source lists off OSS groups in Sun that have been hit by lay-offs, or not. - Google acquisitions may signal big push against Microsoft Office
- Crash State
- Initial Jobless Claims in U.S. Unexpectedly Increase
"Initial jobless claims rose by 7,000 to 480,000 in the week ended Dec. 12, from a revised 473,000 the prior week, Labor Department figures showed today in Washington." - Outbound Brains
"'Let’s be honest, that small-town atmosphere or any-town atmosphere, they are always going to be weary of outsiders coming in and I think that, in an era of globalization, that’s something that you cannot have in you,' he said. 'You’ve got to let that barrier down." - Wassail (Hot Spiced Apple Cider)
- Urban vs Rural vs Rage | BitWorking | Joe Gregorio
- Gin and Titonic Ice Mould
It's called the "Titonic." - Our Info Hunger And Dark Data
- How the iPhone Changed Kayak’s Business
- Nick Law On The Top Interactive Marketing Trends For 2010 – PSFK
"The challenge for brands and their advertisers (in the digital space) can be to identify a platform to 'own' that fits into people’s day to day lives. Said differently, the challenge for a brand is to learn how its customer engages with the researching and purchasing of its product online, and develop a relationship with them within that context." No more TV & billboards, bro, but Cluetrain marketing. - Baby-by-Number: Parents’ New Obsession With Data
More "mobile is the remote control for the cloud," here with personal analytics (or "personal data") for your baby: "Fifteen years ago, tracking your baby’s development meant going to the pediatrician every few months and recording his growth on a simple height and weight chart. Today, baby tracking is a booming business. In addition to websites that let you track your infant’s schedule, there are iPhone apps that translate and record your baby’s cries, wearable devices that keep track of how much you talk to your child, and even electronic toys that record how your child plays with them, so you can compare his progress to developmental norms." And: "'People look at us and say, "My goodness, how do you spend so much time on this?"' Fawcett said. 'But each record takes just a few iPhone clicks, so it’s really not as time-consuming as it looks.'" - Zhao – Travel Guides | Design You Trust. World's Most Provocative Social Inspiration.
I like the conceit here: you don't have an iPhone (smart phone) that would otherwise do this. Paper! - Will Mobile Projectors Change Video Viewing Habits?
"With the rise of mobile projectors we wonder how this shift will affect our video viewing and sharing habits." This is a good statement/question. I bet it'll be as annoying as ring-tones: sounds individual like that played in a public space become annoying to the group. Like, can you image how many cute cat and melt-down kid videos would (will) be shown on the bus, the street, in the shopping mall ("those damn kids and their projectors!")? - Melody Maker: 8 Days A Week
Brian Eno diary (?) entries from 1976. Nice, short, concise. - Watch This: 70-Minute Video Review of Star Wars: The Phantom Menace | /Film
Disclosure: see the RedMonk client list for clients mentioned.
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