Microsoft talks up services, mum on Windows strategy
Microsoft has acknowledged that users aren't just tied to desktop OSes, shifting its focus to Office 365 and DaaS rather than its Windows strategy.
Windows is no longer the only operating system in town, and everyone knows it -- including, at last, Microsoft itself.
The worlds of consumer and enterprise technology today are heterogeneous, and even individual users are likely to use multiple OSes throughout their day. It's not rare for someone to work on a Windows PC during the day, listen to music in the car on an Android phone and watch Netflix on an iPad while at home in bed.
The key enabler of productivity today is the app, not the operating system. Some recent moves by Microsoft, under the leadership of new CEO Satya Nadella, show that the company finally gets it and is adjusting its Windows strategy accordingly.
CEO ignores desktops
Sometimes, what people don't say is more important than what they do say. Nadella wrote a companywide memo in early July about Microsoft's transition from devices and services to platforms and productivity. Conspicuous by its absence was the word desktop. It only appeared once, and that was in reference to Office shifting from on-premises software to a cloud-based service. Ouch! Instead, Nadella said the new Microsoft would focus on building and delivering applications that can run on any device.
Windows de-emphasized at WPC
Microsoft's annual Worldwide Partner Conference is a gathering of thousands of people who make a living off the company's products. So, it was telling when the most ubiquitous product of them all -- Windows --took a back seat. Microsoft instead showcased Office 365, touting its availability on a wide variety of devices and operating systems, including the iPad.
Azure RemoteApp goes beyond DaaS
Desktop as a service (DaaS) is still emerging as an alternative to traditional virtual desktop infrastructure. But, Microsoft is sidestepping the trend and taking an even less desktop-centric approach. Its new Azure RemoteApp cloud service delivers Microsoft apps to mobile devices without Windows, and the company even admits that's what customers want.
