Microsoft Retargets a Cloud-Computing Juggernaut

Microsoft's target markets include small businesses with 25 or fewer employees. This is obviously not an individual user solution. However Mr. Softy will as well be looking at the educational markets, with slightly different plans for faculty, staff, and students. Like as not the company intends to make a more aggressive run at academic powerhouses like Blackboard and others.

While Microsoft's superstar has long been Windows, the MS Office suite works such as hard to drive the bottom line. As a matter of fact, Microsoft's business unit, which includes other products like its Dynamics suite, generated 17% more operating profits than Microsoft's Windows unit last quarter. So during Google Apps' increasing penetration into small businesses and enterprise hasn't cut too deeply into Microsoft's Office revenue but, the company is aggressively working to head off the threat by introducing a product aimed squarely at bringing Google users back.

Big dogs in the parkCompetition for Microsoft's cloud-computing services is as well coming from IBM , which is looking to make a stronger presence by providing more services and products for use on the cloud. To boot, the company has a direct Office rival named Lotus Notes. IBM's software-as-a-service platform could get stronger over the straightway few years with wider cloud integration, giving more competition to a nascent Office 365.

The service provider is

Foolish final thoughtWhoever the service provider is, the idea of cloud computing is catching on fast. During Microsoft risks reduced sales by more directly competing with Google's pricing on a cloud-based Office suite, the alternative of ignoring the growing threat would be an moreover unwise decision.