Will Microsoft’s Mobile, Cloud First Strategy Pay Off?
It probably comes as little surprise that Microsoft's direction following the appointment of new CEO Satya Nadella is one of cloud, but it's also one of mobile. But in Nadella's mind, the two are intrinsically linked. Under his leadership, Microsoft has adopted a "mobile first, cloud first" strategy, and now the company is expanding its offerings in the mobile world.
It probably comes as little surprise that Microsoft‘s (MSFT) direction following the appointment of new CEO Satya Nadella is one of cloud, but it’s also one of mobile. But in Nadella’s mind, the two are intrinsically linked. Under his leadership, Microsoft has adopted a “mobile first, cloud first” strategy, and now the company is expanding its offerings in the mobile world.
As part of this expansion, Microsoft has launched a version of Microsoft Office for iPad, as well as free Office Mobile apps for iPhone and Android phones. Additionally, the company unveiled the Microsoft Enterprise Mobility Suite, which is a set of cloud services intended to help business manage corporate data and services on devices used at both work and at home.
“Microsoft is focused on delivering the cloud for everyone, on every device. It’s a unique approach that centers on people—enabling the devices you love, work with the services you love, and in a way that works for IT and developers,” Nadella said in a prepared statement.
Microsoft also announced it would soon launch Microsoft Azure Active Directory Premium and enhancements to Windows Intune.
As Nadella mentioned in a blog post, “The cloud was created to enable mobility. And mobile devices are really uninteresting without the cloud.” Tell that to those of us who have been mobile device junkies since the smaller the cell phone, the better, Mr. Nadella. Despite ignoring history, Nadella has a point in this modern age of mobile devices: Fewer and fewer smartphones are being sold each year, and people want the cloud-enabled apps on their phones they are used to having on their desktops, laptops and other computing devices.
Of course, Microsoft’s own ventures into the mobile world have met with a mixture of success and failure. Zune, anyone? Or in its inability to compete with Apple (AAPL) iOS and Google (GOOG) Android-enabled devices with Windows Mobile?
Under Nadella’s leadership, maybe Microsoft can actually move forward with a “mobile first” strategy and enable its own and its partners’ success. Where Steve Ballmer seemed to be the flogging a decaying business model at times, Nadella has grown up in the cult of the new. He’s definitely more cloud-savvy, and it looks as though Microsoft is taking the steps required that might push the company further ahead in the cloud age.
