Another Crisis, Another Microsoft Memo

For those of you who want more than what was apparently hand-delivered to the Wall Street Journal yesterday, see the full text on Scripting.com.

Ozzie writes that the "most challenging and promising" change is a new business model emerging in the form of ad-supported services and software.

This, one guesses, is Microsoft's "On Demand" manifesto. IBM did such a masterful job in its "On Demand" ad blitz (substance or lack thereof notwithstanding) that it is the envy of Redmond.

Ozzie speaks of a "services platform" to offer third parties more to build on than the "raw internet." Seamlessness is big. As in the Seamless OS for multi-PC, multi-device, work-anywhere web-based world. Seamless marketplace, ya de ya de ya...

Of course, when software as a service becomes ubiquitous, it's easy to see the value-proposition of a solution provider called into question. Users have to know that the solution provider who tailors the application to solve their problem, is a huge piece of the puzzle. We all know that not even mighty Microsoft gets it right the first, second, even third time. It is the solution provider who knows the customer, the problem, and potential solutions, who holds the key. That critical fact could be lost in the shuffle as vendors try to wring more and more account control (and revenue) out of the solution chain for themselves.

That is why all partners have to watch what Microsoft tis doing in managed services, in hosting, extremely carefully.

Take a look at the memo and let me know what you think. Send mail to [email protected].