Microsoft's Ozzie opens up on Internet 'cloud' services

Microsoft Chief Software Architect Ray Ozzie provided a fresh take of the technical components at the heart of its online services push on Thursday.

Speaking at the Microsoft Financial Analysts Day, Ozzie spelled out in greatest detail yet the work he has led on "cloud" Internet services.

During the next 12 to 18 months, Microsoft will introduce software and hosted services designed to enhance its current product line and derive more revenue from advertising-supported Web services, Ozzie said.

Microsoft chief software architect Ray Ozzie.

(Credit: Microsoft)

Echoing comments he made in an interview with CNET News.com earlier this year, he said Microsoft is preparing a multi-layered platform designed to build and run Web-based services or on-premise software coupled with services.

This platform will be made available to all its customers, including business partners, consumers, business customers and software developers. It is part of the wider industry shift from software to software plus services, he said.

"We are the only company with a platform DNA to viably delivery this kind of highly leveraged platform approach to services and we're certainly one of the few companies that has the financial capacity to capitalize on this sea change" he said.

At the foundation of Microsoft's services architecture is what Ozzie called Global Foundation Services, the managed computing gear at Microsoft data centers for running Internet applications.

Next he referred to Cloud Infrastructure Services, the software tuned for utility computing, where outsiders can purchase computing resources as needed.

Cloud Infrastructure Services is "a utility computing fabric on which online services run. It has an efficient, virtualized computing layer application framework that supports different application models for horizontal scaling, the infrastructure for automatic deployment of services" along with storage of different types of data, Ozzie said. It will also have network services software for serving up information to people over the Internet.

Live Platform Services, the next layer, is a set of largely consumer-oriented services, such as verifying a person's user name and password, social-networking services, and other communications-oriented tools. Microsoft's AdCenter ad-service software will be part of this suite of services.

Ozzie said Microsoft is designing this infrastructure so that consumers can access online services from a range of devices, including its Xbox gaming device, PCs, its Zune digital music player, and phones.

Microsoft can also analyze consumer online behavior coming from its data center for more targeted advertising, he added.

For business customers, Microsoft's strategy is to offer enterprises a choice of either on-premise software, Microsoft-hosted services such as outsourced e-mail, or hosted services from Microsoft partners.

Corporations could contract with Microsoft for utility computing-like services, where they would essentially rent computing power or storage capacity to meet anticipated spikes in demand, Ozzie said.

Ozzie stayed clear of making specific product announcements except to say that his goal is to encourage every software developer at Microsoft to add an online services components to all its products.

"The biggest services opportunity is a services relationship to our classic software products," he said.

[mrzonbu]

Is MSFT feeling the heat from startups like Zonbu?

This story makes me ask the question, is MSFT feeling the heat from startups that have the potential to displace them? Zonbu is $99 + a small monthly subscription fee. It uses almost no power and does most things an average desktop user wants. Or so they say. The reviews have been good but what happens when you try to live with a PC that stores everything "in the cloud" on a day-to-day basis? You can read more on my blog:

http://mrzonbu.wordpress.com/

[sal-magnone]

probably not heat

More like evolution - operating systems and standard apps are moving to free/near-free/effectively-free.

Services and devices (like Zunes, phones, X-Boxes) are the way to go.

I on't think there is any heat YET. The apps are pretty raw and MS OFFICE is really a premium (and reliable) platform. The heat is definetly coming but right now its more anticipation.

[ppgreat]

You can't see the smoke for the vapor

Microsoft continues to show that it can make money based on its
monopoly. What it hasn't shown is that it can survive without it.

Ballmer asking investors for patience is laughable at best. And they
always promote big numbers (such as new hires) as if this is meant
to impress upon people that quantity always overcomes quality.

[sal-magnone]

That was funny

Being a monopoly takes hard work, especially with so many free, better choices around, that I hear are just as good and do so much more and are easier to use, and pretty too; and so many smart people to tell us about them. It a wonder why anyone uses Windows at all.

[maverick_nick]

Microsoft spotted a trend and is adapting

Many people say that Microsoft is rushing to make changes to their business model, because they're receding ground to web-based companies like Google.

The fact is that this isn't anything new, because Microsoft made the announcement back when they launched Windows 95, saying that they want to become an internet company, or at least tie their desktop applications into web services.

What's happening here is Microsoft spotted a trend and is adapting to the changing terrain. It's normal for any business, and shows maturity. They're a very smart company and have proved it in the past, by waiting and seeing how things play out before jumping on the bandwagon.

[Orion Blastar]

Beating Spock to the punch

http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9024559&pageNumber=9

OS/2's GUI was based on the Windows GUI, so OS/2 used Windows codebase.

Everything from OS/2 1.2 and up was based on Windows, before that OS/2 was text based and based on MS-DOS.

Microsoft's Cloud OS is based on Windows codebase, not OS/2 codebase. Commander Spock has it backwards. Someone get Doctor McCoy to tell it to Spock again.

[Commander_Spock]

Nice Try "Orion Blastar"!

If, "In the Beginning" it was DOS when the original IBM Personal Computer was announced... (where was the Microsoft when ("IBM released three operating systems for it") The question is: do you ever read the entire article when ever a link on the "History Of OS/2 is referred to? Here is what it looks like to Commander_Spock: You contract with the Klingons and Romulans to build a battle class ship for your fleet; then, the Klingons and Romulans keep (hold on to) the designs then afterwards, in order to dominate the rest of the Federation... begin to market and sell sub-standards ships to the rest of the Federation - on which original (ownership) design ("codebase" in the case of the PC) are those ships based upon! Take the case of the Japanese car manufacturers after they visited England and took pictures of the cars that were - at the time being manufactured in England.