Microsoftis following Google and
Amazon with acloud computing servicethat will
allow businesses to buy hosted software services over the
internet.
Initially, Microsoft will offer a hosted version of its Exchange
e-mail server and services for collaborative working using
Sharepoint, Office Communications and Office Live Meeting. The
products will be available later this year as individual services
or combined as a suite.
Microsoft chairman Bill Gates said, "The combination of software
plus services gives customers advanced choice and flexibility in
how they access and manage software."
Firms running their software as a service could expect lower
running costs, as they would not need to buy and maintain
infrastructure to support applications running on-site.
The software-as-a-service model has been around for a while, but
relatively few businesses have been attracted by the potential
savings.
Dale Vile, managing director at analyst firm Freeform Dynamics,
said, "About one in 10 organisations are either actively
investigating or using software as a service, and a further 15% to
20% are keeping a watching brief. The majority, however, are not
that interested".
Microsoft has introduced a licensing model to support its online
services strategy. New users can purchase Microsoft Online Services
as a per-user subscription. Businesses that have bought Microsoft's
Software Assurance licence to provide access to server software
using a Client Access Licence will be offered a discounted
subscription.
Gates said subscribers to Microsoft Online Services would be
able to deploy software as a subscription service over the
internet, from servers they manage on-site, or a combination of the
two.
However, this could mean licensing Microsoft Online Services is
more expensive, said Neil Macehiter, research director at analyst
firm Macehiter Ward-Dutton. "There seems to be no cost saving
because you will still need a Microsoft Client Access Licence and
an online licence."
On the technical front, Macehiter said companies would need to
work out how Microsoft Online Services work across their internal
and external networks.
For example, firms would need to assess how a hosted service
such as Microsoft Exchange Online, which manages e-mail from
outside a corporate network, would work with Active Directory,
which sits behind the corporate firewall. Active Directory is at
the heart of a Windows-based network, providing a way to
authenticate and log in users.
Microsoft Online Services
will potentially need to support millions of users, said Matt Cain,
research vice-president at analyst firm Gartner. "Providing
large-scale software as a service for business requires expertise
in high availability, security, multi-tenant architectures, network
topologies and problem resolution.
"Furthermore, Microsoft is retro-fitting its existing software
to the multi-tenant server model. It will not be until the next
version of Exchange [due in 2011] that its core products are better
designed to run in a multi-tenant software-as-a-service model," he
said.