Microsoft Cloud for Business – innovation or just another marketing trick?
Recently the Microsoft presented their new concept – Cloud for Business. To me as an IT specialist it seems like with this. A question is being raised: what does it really mean? The most important thing should be that this “message” is clear to and managers of enterprises since they are going to use this service. In this blog entry I will try to deliver the essence of this “message” and express my opinion about it.
Basically, it all is really simple. Microsoft has been offering well known services for quite a while, e.g.:
- Dynamics ERP (enterprise resource planning) and CRM (client relationship management),
- Azure – hosting platform,
- Office 365 – a cloud-integrated Microsoft Office version.
Previously these were offered separately. The wiseacres have found out that the unique synergy is reached, when these products are offered as a single service, and it gives a great value to the enterprises on the SMB market.
Microsoft Cloud for Business is a service that combines
- e-mail – Outlook and Exchange,
- office applications – Word, Excel, PowerPoint ,
- file storage – OneDrive for Business,
- collaboration tools – Sharepoint, Lync,
- enterprise management system –Microsoft Dunamics NAV (formerly known as Navision), or some others together in one place.
With this solution being cloud-based, the enterprise chief executives do not have to bother about such things as buying and maintaining servers, or obtaining the technical .
It is important to add that the most popular devices and operating systems are supported. For example, the information can be accessed via an Apple IPad, and via a Samsung Galaxy smartphone.
If you would like to know more about the practical usage scenarios of these tools, I suggest you to look into the blog entry of my colleague Reinis Sparāns “5 solutions to increase the business productivity on a regular basis”.
In my point of view the main key word here is the one-stop service. It is a ready and working solution thanks to the fact that the Microsoft has experience in ERP, cloud computing, and office applications. Certainly, it gives a competitive to the Microsoft.
One might think that this is another marketing trick and an overestimation. However, there are several irrefutable pieces of evidence, which testify that this is something real and yummy. I am talking here about the behaviour of other market players, which are teaming up to offer the user some more convenient solutions. Here are some interesting facts.
- Apple is known as a very successful innovator concerning the mobile devices and clouding for individuals. IBM is known as the giant of the business solutions. These both companies have signed a cooperation agreement on developing .
- NetSuite is known as an aggressive CRM service provider (mostly across North America). The Google is another mighty provider of cloud services and cloud office applications. These both companies are joining their strength to offer a complete range of services for business.
- Sage is one of the fiercest opponents of the Microsoft in the field of ERP. And, funny enough, they chose Microsoft Azure to be their cloud computing platform. Interesting, isn’t it?
Undeniably it all serves as evidence to the fact that the world is really transforming, and that it is happening really fast. And, similarly to Formula 1 racing, Microsoft has gained the pole position. The fact does not guarantee a victory, but gives you a pretty good chance to win.
What do you think about it?