Analyzing Microsoft’s Cloud Prospects

The rise of Apple and Google as major forces in the technology industry has diverted attention away from the fact that Microsoft ruled the roost up until a few years back. Naturally, the company is feeling a little insecure, given that many of its fans and customers are questioning some of their moves in the recent past. It seems that the whole world keeps an eye on Microsoft’s every move and they have to deal with a lot of criticism for their performance.

While Microsoft has more than held its own in the PC market, the tech industry has expanded considerably and is no longer based on superiority in a single market. Losing ground to Google in search and Apple in the mobile devices market, Microsoft has two major rivals that seem to be running away with their market share. There is another area where Microsoft has been trying to make major inroads: cloud computing. But will the company be able to find its way in successfully?

Cloud computing has become a hot topic as far as enterprises are concerned. The cloud gives them the chance to store all their files and documents safely and without any reason to worry. Microsoft has developed the Azure platform as a means of asserting its presence in the cloud market. Given the fact that enterprise customers still account for 80% of the revenue generated by Microsoft, it seems probable that businesses would love to use Azure over other cloud computing platforms.

However, one major criticism regarding the Azure platform is that Microsoft has rushed with its release. They should have taken their time to make it foolproof and ready for use by large organizations. This is not to say that Azure doesn’t work or is inadequate but the fact remains that Microsoft’s cloud service is not ready for the big leagues yet. When compared to its rivals, it sadly appears half-baked. There is considerable room for improvement and Microsoft has to fill the gaps before it can capture the market.

Another cause for concern has been the Office 365 Microsoft has been providing alongside Azure. At first, market experts believed this was a great move on the company’s part and that Office 365 would be reliable ‘Software as a Service’ (SaaS). In essence, it was believed to be Microsoft’s answer to Oracle. Yet, that perception has changed as well keeping in view Azure’s inadequacies. The SaaS platform cannot be expected to carry the flagship cloud service towards success.

A positive move on Microsoft’s part has been to create a community portal for Azure where developers can create new features to enhance the platform. However, it is going to take much more than this if the company wants to gain an edge over its competitors in the cloud market. Still, all is not lost and insiders still believe that Microsoft has a better cloud platform than Amazon and a couple of other providers. Now it is up to Microsoft to make some changes to Azure and make it a worthwhile cloud platform.

[Image via geekword]