Microsoft Online Services - beta in US, international .. not for a while yet, but you get to see where Microsoft is going!

doverton — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 21:01:00 GMT

What is it?

I know Vlad is not going to like this, but even he will admit that this has been on the cards for a while. Software plus services is coming to town in a bigger and bigger way. At the moment there is a limited beta in the US and (just like Google), it has the beta tag on it.

So what have we seen today, well we have seen Microsoft stand up and be counted in it's commitment to the software-plus-services strategy. We have seen existing "on premise" solutions of Exchange and SharePoint be offered as a S+S (software-plus-services) alternative for those customers who don't wish to run these themselves. There is no "must switch" or "dropping" of the existing, very successful products, just more options for people.

As a customer you would consider whether you get better value running these in-house yourself, or with a partner delivering them for you in-house, or completely outsources to another partner or Microsoft.

As a partner you have to consider how you deliver in all worlds. While today you probably add value to "on premise" solutions you need to understand how and if you add value should your customer opt for the new services. If you want to deliver theses types of services yourself, look at SPLA agreements and the information at The Microsoft Service Provider License Agreement (SPLA). If you want to build solutions on top of those announced today then look at http://www.microsoft.com/online/partner/learn-more.mspx.

Either way you can learn more at http://www.microsoft.com/online/default.mspx.

Other's reactions

As you can imagine, there have been a few prople covering this, from bloggers to journalists. Below are just some of the items I've seen so far:

Press

Microsoft to Expand Microsoft Online Services for Businesses of All Sizes (press release)

http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Enterprise-Apps/Microsoft-Expands-its-Online-Services/

Microsoft moves further into the cloud.. cautiously

http://www.ebizq.net/blogs/saasweek/2008/03/microsoft_expands_ondemand_ser/

Blogs

Microsoft to Expand Microsoft Online Services for Businesses of All Sizes

Hosted Services - here we come

OK, that should be enough for today .. expect more from Mix!!

ttfn

David

Technorati Tags: Software plus Service, SaaS, Microsoft Online, Microsoft, Hosted, Exchange, SharePoint, beta, if you only read one post today

Microsoft, BT hook up for hosted apps | Tech News on ZDNet

doverton — Sat, 24 Feb 2007 12:46:09 GMT

Given the recent good moves forward with Office Live (UK web site - http://www.officelive.co.uk, partners getting excited - Tim Long, bCentral information on the products and 5 amazing case studies) I thought I would share this further advancement in the online world.

There will always be a place for the small business products that rely on physical servers, but the business by Vlad and many others shows us that the SaaS (Software as a Service and Software AND Service) work well for a business model.

The difference between SAAS and SaS, IMHO, is one is rich in both client and web based tools, the other is ONLY rich when connected. Take Exchange and Outlook - Outlook is a great client when connected to Exchange. OWA is a great client too, however Outlook's offline ability is what sets it apart. You can get get great online and offline experiences with SaS.

Microsoft and BT are to launch an online marketplace for hosted applications, with small-business customers as the target.
The BT Applications Marketplace forms part of Microsoft's concerted push into the field of "software as a service." In this delivery mechanism, software is remotely hosted and usually paid for on a monthly subscription basis, rather than hosted on a company's own server and paid for up-front.
In the marketplace, customers can expect to see "commodity apps" such as those for human resources, customer relationship management (CRM) and payroll, said Claire O'Halloran, of Microsoft's partner development group. But the linkup with the U.K. communications giant will also likely provide niche applications geared to the likes of realtors and dentists.
Around 30 hosted applications are expected to be available through the marketplace at its launch.

Source: Microsoft, BT hook up for hosted apps | Tech News on ZDNet

Technorati tags: SaaS, Office Live, Software as a Server, Software and Service, Hosted, Microsoft, BT

Search results matching tags 'Exchange' and 'Office Live'

Microsoft Online Services - beta in US, international .. not for a while yet, but you get to see where Microsoft is going!

What is it?

Other's reactions

Microsoft, BT hook up for hosted apps | Tech News on ZDNet