Eron Kelly, director of product management in Microsoft's Business Online Services group (right) joined Elop at the launch event to talk about how on-premise and services-based components of Exchange and SharePoint make the most sense for businesses.
"Customers don't want to just go to the cloud and pretend they don't have local requirements; they want a blend of these things," Elop said.
Microsoft's competitors have also acknowledged that software on the client is going to be required, Elop said in a Q&A at the event. Resorting to the old tactic of not mention Google by name, Elop said the fact that one Microsoft cloud competitor recently launched its own Web browser is a reflection that local processing is important for the success of online services, and a validation of Software Plus Services.
