Microsoft needs to get real when it comes to hosting

Tuesday, July 14th, 2009

So the reports are that Microsoft believes there is a huge untapped demand for internet-hosted cloud-based services like Exchange Server, SharePoint and so forth.

One report, from our friends at The Register, states: “Nine out of 10 will also want to deploy the web-based versions of Exchange, SharePoint, and Office 2010 – due in the first half of next year. Stephen Elop (Microsoft’s business applications chief) didn’t reveal the source of the data behind his claim, but the message was blunt.”

I think not. In fact, I will eat my hat if it gets 90% business uptake of hosted services. The reliance on unreliable internet connectivity is scary beyond belief, and although I am certain that Microsoft itself will have huge deployments of this stuff, it forgets that its cloud services are effectively local storage to their network infrastructure. It’s a very different matter when your business is sitting in a village outside Newcastle.

And, to bang the drum once again, the SLA and contractual documentation is still a frightening mess. At least Dick Turpin had the good grace to wear a mask.

Microsoft attempts to clean up its cloud

Wednesday, May 20th, 2009

You may have read my not-terribly-polite post about the astonishing restrictions found inside Microsoft’s terms and conditions for its hosted services. Well here’s the follow-up.

Because yesterday, I (and a couple of colleagues) had an hour-long “full and frank exchange of views” with four senior Microsoft Redmond people responsible for the hosted services offering: Eron Kelly, Senior Director, Microsoft Online Services; Kore Kourbourlis, Senior Director, Compliance and Privacy; Brendon Lynch, Director, Trustworthy Computing; and Mike Ziock, Senior Director of Operations, Business Online Services.

We went through our concerns regarding data movement, implications for data protection issues under EU law, SLA, the sign-up process, terms & conditions and so forth. (more…)