Microsoft BPOS: Major Corporations Embrace Microsoft Cloud
Major US companies Advocate Health Care, Manpower Inc., Shell and Tampa General Hospital have become the latest to adopt the Microsoft BPOS (Business Productivity Online Suite) SaaS applications. As is often the case with cloud customer wins, Microsoft is lauding the cost savings and efficiency gains their new clients will be getting. It’s a strong list, but it’s not the arms-length announcement around their previous public sector victories.
Microsoft BPOS, soon to be relaunched as Office 365, is a cloud suite consisting of Microsoft Exchange Online, Microsoft SharePoint Online, Microsoft Office Live Meeting and Microsoft Office Communications Online. In terms of the channel, BPOS has triggered some debate because Microsoft doesn’t allow VARs to manage cloud billing for end customers.
Still, BPOS appears to be gaining some momentum. The latest Microsoft wins, according to a press release, include:
- Advocate Health Care, the largest healthcare provider in Illinois, will be retiring its aging e-mail system as it moves 29,000 employees to the cloud. And without having to administrate those e-mail servers, their IT staff will be able to devote its time to other projects. $4 million in potential savings are also a plus.
- Work-force solution provider Manpower Inc. is hoping to save $2.2 million a year by moving its 30,000 employees in 82 offices around the globe from differing e-mail systems to Exchange Online.
- Gas titan Shell has its sights set on Microsoft SharePoint Online, using the BPOS suite to enhance collaboration amongst its employees.
- Tampa General Hospital applauds the mobility that the BPOS suite brings to its nurses, doctors, and staff. But more importantly, they say that Microsoft BPOS meets its security needs.
Microsoft tends to wait a long time between cloud customer deal announcements, preferring to let it all out in one go. But just as we asked in July 2010 when the previous batch was unleashed — where do Microsoft partners fit in?
No doubt, VARs and cloud service providers are winning their fare share of BPOS deals. But generally speaking Microsoft has not done a very good job promoting SMB solutions providers that are winning with BPOS.
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