(WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) — Software giant Microsoft (www.microsoft.com) announced on Wednesday it is now offering Canadian businesses a free 30-day trial of four hosted services, including Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, Office Communications Online and Office Live Meeting, according to a report on IT Business.
The hosted applications are bundled together in the Business Productivity Online Suite.
According to Phil Sorgen, president of Microsoft Canada, the move represents yet another transitional mark for the company’s much touted “software plus services” cloud strategy, says Phil Sorgen, president of Microsoft Canada.
In addition to the hosted services trial, Microsoft is prepping the new version of Office and the new Azure operating system.
Microsoft will make all of its offerings available to customers, either in their own environment, or within the cloud as a service, or a combination of the two, says Sorgen.
He adds that the company now has Windows for the PC, Windows for the server, and Windows for the cloud “all working seamlessly together.
The hosted services trial comes at an opportune time. As the recession deepens, companies are restructuring their IT budgets to concentrate on investments that will help them save money in the long term, making cloud computing a desirable technology for many of these businesses.
A recent survey by Kelyon Research commissioned by Avande revealed that more Canadian IT managers have adopted cloud computing and are more informed about the technology than the rest of the world.
The study showed that more than 67 percent of Canadian companies admitting that they are currently using a combination of cloud computing and internally owned IT systems, compared to only one-third of companies worldwide.
Microsoft is offering Canadian customers the full suite of online services for $20 a month per licence, with a minimum purchase of five licenses.
Canadian users of the hosted services will have their data stored in US data centers for now, says Microsoft, which also has facilities in Ireland and Singapore.
Canadian businesses can visit Microsoft Canada’s website to participate in the free trial.
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