Mary Jo Foley has a list of 15 market opportunities that Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer feels are promising.
Ballmer is psyched about Windows and Office, in both the consumer/small business market and the enterprise IT realm. XBox/XBox Live, adCenter and Windows Mobile make the cut, and he thinks anti-piracy crackdowns will generate huge savings. Zune, IPTV and Healthcare are also expected to be winners.
Server/database/security products are mentioned, but NOT hosting providers as a distribution channel. On the other hand, Office Live IS on the list, along with "business services, particularly the Exchange/Office Communications Server hosting that Microsoft is testing with three or four large customers". Oh, and Ballmer told Wall Street analysts that he's "building a cloud platform".
I get the feeling that Microsoft is more focused on its own hosting ambitions than enabling hosting partners. What do you think?
There are no comments for this entry.
[Add Comment]