Microsoft talks up Azure, cloud computing yet again

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer recently showed additional support for cloud computing, as the company is now tracking down corporate and government clients.

Microsoft once dominated with Office and other software, but has struggled to keep up with rivals in a changing market.  For example, the use of OpenOffice, Abiword, and other open source alternatives has given Microsoft problems – and its Internet Explorer Web browser has continued to lose out to Mozilla Firefox, Opera, and Google Chrome.

ADVERTISEMENT

To help change things around, signing new corporate clients up for Azure could help Microsoft -- but Ballmer must also find a way to attract home users to cloud computing.

Microsoft is close but hasn't put the right package together across multiple platforms, which cloud computing should be able to do.  The company has an Internet browser, word processor, search engine, media player -- all necessary steps in a growing cloud enterprise -- but IE, Word, Bing, and Zune are losing their popularity in their respective markets.

ADVERTISEMENT

Microsoft is working with several PC manufacturers that include Azure in the data center, but project details haven’t been clarified.  Specifically, Dell, Hewlett-Packard and Fujitsu will use the new Azure appliances feature, as Microsoft looks to expand its presence in the enterprise.  Ebay also said it will use the Azure platform in two of its data centers, after previously testing the system.

In May, Ballmer said cloud computing is the next frontier in the PC industry , with the company reportedly working on cloud-related projects for the past 10 years.

Also during the keynote, Ballmer promoted Windows Phone 7 and Windows 7 "slate" tablet computers that will compete with the Apple iPad.  Microsoft has seen success with the Xbox 360 game console and the Windows 7 OS, but needs to find successful new business ventures.

ADVERTISEMENT

I applaud Ballmer’s actions to try and make sure Microsoft steps up and isn’t left behind in the cloud computing market.  However, I think it’s going to be hard to be taken seriously by home users without major changes to IE and Bing.

No posts to display