Ballmer Cops to Cloud Concerns
Over a decade ago when Bill Gates bet Microsoft on the Internet, it was a sure thing. When Steve Ballmer decided to bet at least a part of his company on the cloud, it was a bit of a risk.
Let's face it, WAN and Internet speeds don't always support snappy cloud computing, and IT is reluctant to give up control to an untrusted outside party. Perhaps, more importantly, IT is reluctant to give up JOBS to an untrusted outside party!
So it's no wonder Steve Ballmer was nervous about Redmond's cloud move -- feelings he confessed to at this week's Worldwide Partner Conference. Since it was a partner conference, Steve mostly admitted to worries that partners might not stay with Redmond for the long cloud haul.
As Ballmer explained, the move to the cloud has really been a five-year affair, with each year bringing Microsoft closer to Cloud Nirvana.
In fact, Microsoft only "mentioned" cloud computing five years ago. By 2010, Microsoft was "all in."
Fortunately Microsoft still has a massive arsenal of on-premise software, so if the cloud collapses, Redmond revenues won't.
What year will cloud revenues surpass Microsoft on-premise software revenues? Guesses and total conjecture equally welcome at [email protected].
Posted by Doug Barney on 07/13/2011 at 1:18 PM