Microsoft wants partners ‘all in’ on cloud, too
Cloud computing dominates agenda for conference in Washington, D.C.
By Robert Mullins on Sat, 07/10/10 - 3:58pm.Microsoft is hosting its Worldwide Partner Conference 2010 July 11-15 in the nation’s capital with a focus on its cloud computing strategy. Key to the strategy, as with any big company’s corporate strategy, is participation by partners.
Former President Bill Clinton is the conference’s guest keynote speaker, but his talk will focus on the philanthropic efforts of his William J. Clinton Foundation. The rest of the agenda is devoted to stroking Microsoft partners and, even in sessions devoted to selling software as a license, the focus is on Microsoft’s transition to software as a service.
Microsoft has been beating the drum for cloud computing ever since CEO Steve Ballmer’s speech back in March at the University of Washington-Seattle. Some skeptics have wondered how Microsoft will carry out that vision. At a cloud conference I attended in Santa Clara, Calif., about a week after Ballmer's speech, IDC analyst Frank Gens asked "Who's going to be the Microsoft of the cloud?" almost as if Microsoft wouldn't presumptively be the answer. At this upcoming conference, Microsoft will get down to the nitty-gritty about how it intends to be the Microsoft of the cloud.
One session description explains its focus “on how resellers and distributors can carve out a business for themselves re-selling and distributing cloud-based apps vs. on-premises or boxed apps.” A variety of Microsoft partners will engage in a panel discussion on how they have successfully built solutions, practices, and business portfolios to go after the cloud market. Tiffani Bova, a Gartner research vice president, will provide insight into market cloud adoption rates, “hotspots” where customers are expected to make cloud investments and what business model changes partners should consider. Another session devoted to large account resellers (LAR) is titled, “Preparing the LAR Program to Succeed in Today’s Environment.”
Besides cloud, also of note on the agenda is a number of sessions devoted to Windows Phone 7, the new mobile operating system due out later this year. Microsoft’s Windows Mobile OS has been eclipsed in the market by smartphones running Apple, Google Android and RIM BlackBerry systems. That and the recent debacle, in which Microsoft dropped the Kin line of smartphones after only six weeks on the market, will add to the pressure on the company to come up with a winner in Phone 7.
When Microsoft first embraced the cloud, observers wondered how the company built on the on-premise licensed software revenue model could turn that ship around. Obviously, Microsoft’s partners are crewing that ship as well and their hands are also needed on deck.
- About Microsoft Tech
Robert Mullins is a freelance journalist based in San Francisco. He has been writing about technology from Silicon Valley for more than a decade. He has covered such beats as network security, servers, storage, software development, telecommunications and, of course, Microsoft, for a variety of publications, most notably the IDG News Service and Network World.
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