Cloud computing, which refers to the delivery of computing services over the internet as an alternative to running software and hardware on your own premises, is a once-in-decade disruption in the computing industry. Customers -- businesses, governments, consumers -- are very excited about cloud computing because it holds the promise of reducing IT costs, converting capital expenditure into operating expenditure and "outsourcing" complexity. Like most disruptive innovations, it represents both an opportunity and a threat. As a leader in the industry, Microsoft has embraced cloud computing with vigor and our CEO, Steve Ballmer, likes to talk about our strategy as "three screens and the cloud" -- a scenario where people access rich experiences seamlessly across small screens (like the mobile phone), midsize screens (PC or more specialized devices like e-book readers) and large screens such as the TV -- all powered by services delivered over the Web. Microsoft is investing billions of dollars in R&D and capex to create the global infrastructure required to deliver cloud computing and to give customers a choice of using all our software on premise (as they currently do), partner hosted or as a service (such as Microsoft Online Services, Windows Azure) from Microsoft for an affordable monthly fee. Cloud computing is one of our biggest bets as a company and an essential one to retain our industry leadership.
Cloud computing is likely to be adopted very fast in India -- perhaps even faster than in developed countries -- because of low levels of IT usage and lack of legacy IT systems. This means businesses and governments have the opportunity to leapfrog directly to cloud computing just as India leapfrogged landlines directly to mobile phones. The ability to pay for IT on an affordable monthly charge per user, the abstraction of all hassles and complexity and the ability to defeat software piracy, all make cloud computing a very attractive model for India. We've found small and midsize businesses particularly excited about our cloud computing services and in just a few months over 1,800 businesses have become trial users of our Microsoft Online Services. I expect cloud computing to also find favor with government as an effective way to deliver all types of citizen services reliably and affordably. Our partners like Infosys, Wipro and HCL are eagerly embracing cloud computing as a way of extending their leadership in the global IT services arena. It's a very exciting time indeed.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB126012590544978989.html?mod=dist_smartbrief
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