Microsoft is making two big bets for the new fiscal year: the cloud and the small business market.
So it’s fitting that the company is creating a new division that will be chartered with offering cloud computing services for the small business sector.
According to ChannelWeb, the division will include all of the SMB sales, technical, marketing and distribution resources under a single multibillion dollar division. It’s reputed to have as much resources it needs for its efforts.
Microsoft face a heated battle in the SMB market, particularly against Google, which has been making noticeable inroads with Google Apps.
According to CRN, the announcement came through an internal memo, that cited the growing competition in the SMB market. It will be officially announced to partners at the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference next week in Washington, DC.
CEO Steve Ballmer is making moves reminiscent of the mid-1990s when Bill Gates declared Microsoft an Internet company. Back then, Netscape served as Microsoft’s challenger in the browser market. The software company’s push led to Internet Explorer’s dominance. Today, Google is the challenger.
But it’s a different battle today than in 1996. Google is as much a powerhouse as Microsoft. And Google has all kinds of arsenal behind it, including Android, a mobile operating system that is quickly gaining market share.
As for Microsoft? They love this kind of competition. Get ready, this is going to be a war.
