Collaborative Strategy Guild » Microsoft

Microsoft aims to sharpen its CRM pitch | Beyond Binary – CNET News

Peter O'Kelly — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 11:45:00 +0000

A Microsoft/Salesforce competitive snapshot

Instead of aiming squarely at Salesforce, Microsoft's Dynamics business, which includes the CRM product, tries to mimic Redmond's companywide efforts to portray itself as "all in" when it comes to the cloud. With Microsoft spending more and more of its massive R&D budget on cloud services and data centers, Park said Salesforce will have a tough time keeping pace. In explaining the strategy, Park heads to a whiteboard and draws a nine-box chart showing how Microsoft offers a combination of platform, applications, and infrastructure across servers and private and public clouds. Salesforce, he suggests, is only dabbling in a few of those categories.

And while Salesforce is profitable (it made $16.5 million in net income on $394 million in revenue last quarter), Park maintains it is not yet big enough to be a long-term competitor.

"Their business model is predicated on high-scale and they have to reach Amazon-like scale to be sustainable and they have not hit that threshold yet," Park said.

Microsoft aims to sharpen its CRM pitch | Beyond Binary - CNET News

Microsoft Enters Google’s Unwalled Garden – NYTimes.com

Peter O'Kelly — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 10:25:00 +0000

An interesting “co-opetition” case study'; see the full Bing blog post for more details

Microsoft Microsoft Bing is now available as a downloadable application for the Android platform.

In late 2009, when Microsoft introduced a downloadable application for the iPhone from Apple, it set off some excitement in the tech world. For years, Microsoft and Apple had been head-to-head in the war for personal computing.

On Monday, the tech world was buzzing again with an announcement by Microsoft’s search group, Bing, that the company has released an application for the Android platform from Google. The move could be seen as an encroachment on Google’s turf, as the two companies compete directly on a number of search platforms.

Microsoft Enters Google's Unwalled Garden - NYTimes.com

The Business of Online Ads and Browsers

Karen Hobert — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 20:32:00 +0000

The Wall Street Journal recently published a few articles on Online Privacy issues. In "Microsoft Quashed Effort to Boost Online Privacy," the article points out that today's browser business is primarily in support of advertising sales:

As online advertising grows more sophisticated, companies playing prominent roles in consumers' online experiences have discovered they have access to a valuable trove of information. In addition to Microsoft, such companies include search-engine giant Google Inc., iPhone maker Apple Inc., and Adobe Systems Inc., whose Flash software makes much of the Internet's video, gaming and animation possible. These companies now have a big say in how much information can be collected about individual users.

The article details the internal struggle at vendors who are in the business of producing browsers and online advertising solutions. Big stakes for all, basically putting the consumer in charge of their privacy. As if we had a clue. This was the topic of a conversation I was having with Diana Kelley at SecurityCurve this morning; consumers have little to no idea what's being tracked or how. We trust the vendors and the providers that they have our best interests in mind when in fact they have their own best interests in mind. That usually involves making as much money as they can giving away free stuff to consumers.

For more insight on what is tracked and by whom, check out WSJ's article "What They Know."

Microsoft shares (officially) its future BPOS plans | ZDNet

Karen Hobert — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 19:08:00 +0000

Mary Jo Foley at ZDNet brings us the latest BPOS roadmap announced at Mictosoft's Worldwide Partner Conference last week. The emphasis on selling SaaS is gaining ground at Microsoft, including free BPOS for partners, and more likely good deals for customers:

Microsoft showcased at the show this week a number of its partners who’ve already jumped on the BPOS bandwagon. To encourage others to start selling the suite, Microsoft announced that it will offer partners 250 BPOS seats for their own use.

Microsoft shares (officially) its future BPOS plans | ZDNet:

Mitigating Risk and Finding Opportunity in Software as a Service (SaaS) E-mail for Small and Medium Businesses

Karen Hobert — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 18:47:40 +0000

Announcing the latest CSG publication, “Mitigating Risk and Finding Opportunity in Software as a Service E-mail for Small and Medium Businesses.” You can download the white paper here or go to our Research page.

Software as a Service (SaaS) e-mail offerings provide some operational productivity benefits at lower prices, although it is not a silver bullet, and should not be considered a compromise to existing solutions. SaaS e-mail service bundles can provide capabilities not previously available with existing e-mail solutions especially with operational aspects of managing an e-mail infrastructure. Although total cost of ownership (TCO) is a leading driver for choosing SaaS e-mail, customers should approach SaaS e-mail options based on how the solution will improve the e-mail experience and increase user and operational productivity as well as mitigate risks.

Gauging the Real Value of SaaS E-mail

Karen Hobert — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 07:07:06 +0000

I‘m pleased to announce the publication of “Gauging the Real Value of Software as a Service (SaaS) E-mail for Small and Medium Businesses,” a Collaborative Strategy Guild white paper on SaaS E-mail and productivity. You can download the paper here or go to our Research page.

The e-mail market is rapidly evolving as new business-grade software as a service (SaaS) e-mail options become a viable alternative to the traditional on-site e-mail by competing on price and value. Information Technology (IT) decision makers are pressured to reduce costs, so they’re considering a move to SaaS e-mail solutions, which is driving businesses to scrutinize current e-mail strategies. Making a SaaS e-mail decision depends upon the unique needs of the business and how available options not only offer cost savings, but also productivity value.

In this paper, Collaborative Strategy Guild founding member, Karen Hobert, focuses on the SaaS e-mail market, its impact on small and medium businesses (SMBs), and how to find the real value in different product offerings.

Microsoft’s software pipeline set to burst – Microsoft, sharepoint, TechEd, Windows 7 – Computerworld

Karen Hobert — Fri, 15 May 2009 15:43:04 +0000

Nice take-away from TechEd 2009 from Network World’s John Fontana.

If there was one revelation at this week’s Microsoft TechEd conference it was that the company’s product pipeline is stuffed with new software timed for release in the next seven to 12 months that will force corporate IT to deftly plan and strategize how it wants to deal with the onslaught.

Read the full article for more of his thoughts on how this may impact customers.

Disclosure: I’m quoted in the article.

Microsoft’s software pipeline set to burst – Microsoft, sharepoint, TechEd, Windows 7 – Computerworld