Cloud Computing is a nebulous phrase, but the Cloud is becoming ever present in our computer driven lives. In short, Cloud Computing encompasses a growing collection of integrated services. Those services can range from analytics, database, mobile, storage and web. Convenience and cost are the main reasons why our society is careening so readily toward the Cloud.
In the Cloud arena, Microsoft is racing against its biggest rivals, Google and Amazon. On Wednesday, during his keynote at the Worldwide Partner Conference (WPC), Microsoft Chief Operating Officer Kevin Turner encouraged all partners to “win every single deal” to get more customers on to the Microsoft Cloud solution — Azure. Azure is already massive and currently has “double the footprint of Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Google” combined.
During his keynote, Turner took a gentle but honest swing at Google. Referring to Google’s fondness for browsing private data, Turner said, “We don’t snoop your e-mail. We don’t serve you ads. We don’t drive cars around listening to your conversations. We are not that company.” Turner also revealed that Microsoft had converted 1200 Google Apps customers over to Office 365 since last year. Humorously he urged attending partners to “rescue” other Google App users.
As we all know, Microsoft is listening and open under the stewardship of Satya Nadella. That philosophy was reflected at WPC as this was the first year that Microsoft allowed competitors such as Google, Salesforce, and Oracle to attend the conference. As if to underline that policy of openness and fairness, Turner borrowed a line from the Hololens commercials:
“We’re a better company when we stand and reach across the aisle…. It’s not about the competition. It’s about us, the people in this room, what we do. When you change the way you see the world, you change the world you see.”
Like it or not, Cloud Computing will become an even larger part of the future. Microsoft knows this and wants in on the ground floor. With a mantra of “Mobile first, Cloud first,” Microsoft can’t afford to lose its lead in this arena. Grab your popcorn and let the race begin.
