Question...

Zune HD: Still Not an iPod Killer

I have a different read on this chart...

(1) The Nano got a big spike when they announced cameras, and then fell off rapidly
(2) The ZuneHD also got a big spike - not as high as Nano spike but still significant -- enough interest to bring it on par with the iPod Touch, and showing 30-40% more consumer interest than the Nano.
(3) The fall off in the week after the announcements for both Nano and iPod Touch is quite steep, while the fall off in the week after the ZuneHD announcement is less steep...with consumer interest in the ZuneHD moving even edging slightly *ahead* ahead of the iPod Touch (and well ahead of Nano).
(4) The iPod Touch's relatively slower fall off in interest vs. the Nano after ZuneHD announcements is to be expected, as this is typical when an innovative "challenger" comes out (the ZuneHD, in this case) because it invites comparison shopping with the current market leader (Touch, in this case).
(4) Net-net: in the weeks prior to both Apple and Microsoft announcements, ZuneHD generated less consumer interest, and by the week after the ZuneHD announcement consumer interest had caught up and even edged slightly ahead of the "mighty" iPod.

Really, a very positive story for Zune, IMO.

Google Takes Another Swipe at Microsoft's Enterprise

I should add... Microsoft offers financially-backed SLAs for their Cloud email and productivity services (unlike Google).


On Jun 09 04:19 PM Question... wrote:

> I'll admit it... I love Outlook. I think this is a testament to the
> flexibility and value find in Office - Outlook in particular. I've
> been getting both my enterprise email and my consumer Hotmail in
> Outlook for quite a while, so my reaction to Gmail in Outlook is
> "what took so long?"
>
> In fact, I can ship even ship FedEx packages in Outlook. Even beyond
> email and calendar, it's a fabulous tool... it connects to SharePoint
> and is easily custumizable to include LOB data and workflows. <br/>
>
> BTW: Folks who like their Exchange email but want a low cost cloud
> version can **try it free** here: www.microsoft.com/onli...
> ... and get SharePoint collaboration, web conferencing, and enterprise-grade
> IM, as well.

Google Takes Another Swipe at Microsoft's Enterprise

I'll admit it... I love Outlook. I think this is a testament to the flexibility and value find in Office - Outlook in particular. I've been getting both my enterprise email and my consumer Hotmail in Outlook for quite a while, so my reaction to Gmail in Outlook is "what took so long?"

In fact, I can ship even ship FedEx packages in Outlook. Even beyond email and calendar, it's a fabulous tool... it connects to SharePoint and is easily custumizable to include LOB data and workflows.

BTW: Folks who like their Exchange email but want a low cost cloud version can **try it free** here: www.microsoft.com/onli... ... and get SharePoint collaboration, web conferencing, and enterprise-grade IM, as well.

Where Is Cloud Computing Going?

I believe there is a real risk that cloud computing could lead to enterprises establishing new silos, but it *appears* from this article that Jim Kobielus and David Kelly might misunderstand the mechanism that creates the silo. The purpose of service oriented architecture is partly to bridge silos - not by making all the platforms homogenous, or even portable - but instead by making heterogenous platforms interoperable.

I think it will become common place for cloud "platform-as-a-service" offerings to support both defacto "web standards" like REST and also WS-* standards for communication and interop. Microsoft's cloud offering Windows Azure already supports this. This is necessary, but not sufficient.

Additionally, silos exist when there is a lack of support for federated Identity Managment and application management/monitoring. To avoid silos, enterprises should look for cloud platform-as-a-service offerings that support all three - data/process interoperability, federated identity management, and the ability to leverage existing application management tools with cloud apps.

At some point, it's likely that all successful cloud platforms will support all three of these flavors of interoperability. Today, Microsoft looks to me like the real leader here, as the Azure Services Platform is already on the path to deliver all of these.

Cloud Wars: Is There Room for Google and Microsoft?

The broad, extremely horizontal productivity apps like email, collaboration, web conferencing, etc. are important, but IMO they represent just the tip of the iceberg for enterprises... the bulk of technology is put to use in more specialized applications. After all, even something as perasive as general ledger is more specialized than email, and a great many apps are very specialized... these specialized apps form the ISV market, and also exist as the custom software apps that enterprises build for themselves.

This is where the cloud can really offer the biggest advantage to enterprises, and it's where it's most critical to have a strong security, inteoperability, and manageability story to complement the development story. These attributes - security, interoperability, and manageability - are critical because enterprises do not, IMO, want to create new silos in the clouds or obsolete their SOA, systems managment, and identity managment consolidation efforts of the last 7-8 years. Instead, I think most want to leverage them and see them extend to include the cloud so that they can manage their total technology portfolios more effectively (whether in the data center, on devices, in the clouds, or hybrid of all three).

I think Microsoft's heritage as a platform provider will be a real advantage here. Complementing the Microsoft Online Services you mentioned, that heritage is showing itself in emerging services like Windows Azure, and the related Azure Services Platform, as well as in continued innovation on "edge" device and server software platforms to make them more "cloud-aware".

For these reasons, I'm very optimistic about Microsoft's long term opportunities. The industry movement from siloed SaaS apps to a wholistic approach where software in the cloud, on servers, and across devices all work together well is just getting started, but I think Microsoft is carving out a leadership position that will be difficult for competitors to match.

Read more on my blog: blogs.msdn.com/johnmul...

Disclosure: I work for Microsoft but my opinions are my own.

Netflix Streams 1.5 Billion Minutes of Video to XBox 360

I'm one of the people who signed up, and I have to say it's awesome! Dramatically changed my media habits. I've never been interested in Netflix as a way to get DVDs by mail, because I really don't want to deal with DVDs. But being able to pay small monthly fee and get as many movies as I want on my tv is fantastic.

There is room for improvement, of course. Not all movies are available yet via my XBOX 360. Also, I can't browse the full netflix catalog and add new movies to my "instant queue" via the XBOX 360 -- need to do that with a computer, or I can use the Netflix app on my phone (a HTC Fuze with Windows Mobile) which helps a little bit.

Fix those two things - keep expanding the catalog, and let me browse it from the XBOX 360 directly, and it would be absolutely just right for me!

How Will Cloud Computing Impact IT Vendors?

Nice panel discussion. I did have a question...

Dana, at the end where you say "So Microsoft and not the business becomes the arbiter."... Can you elaborate on what you meant here?

I'm not sure I understand your intent correctly, but my thought when reading through the post was this:

Even if Microsoft is making a new capability available (i.e., to run code in different places based on SLA, capacity demands), isn't it still the business that decides if and when to use it?

Can Google Reach Its Pie in the Sky?

Some interesting thoughts in there.

@Dennis, my understanding of the software-plus-services term is that Microsoft is trying to emphasize the emerging industry trend toward software and SaaS solutions/environments working well together -- something that would make the cloud much more practical and useful in more cases. If they are able to deliver effectively on their own efforts to make the cloud and their large base of software (and ecosystem) play nicely, customers should get some powerful new capabilities and greater flexibility.

Can Two Rich Guys Humanize Microsoft?

Overall, one of the best posts I've seen on the new Windows ads.... I agree... Microsoft is trying to humanize the company, and Gates is great spokesperson for that. People instantly associate him with Microsoft, and he's widely respected and admired. Plus, people like to see billionaires not taking themselves too seriously.

One minor point of contention, I don't think Microsoft is *just* trying to humanize the company... I think they will have additional specific, substantive communication goals that they try to achieve with future ads in the series. Humanizing Microsoft and re-establishing rapport with the audience will help them make those points more effectively.

The whole "strike back at apple ads" is a bit overblown, IMO. I think Microsoft has simply realized it's better if they define themselves instead of letting their competitors do it.