When Microsoft Chief Software Architect Ray Ozzie announced he was leaving the company, I was a bit skeptical as to why he was leaving.  Yes, he was having difficulty with handling the corporate culture, but unlike a lot of CEO-type leaders, he had a vision of the future, and that was the cloud.  He may just be leaving because his work at Microsoft is done.  First, they launched Azure; now, Microsoft is announcing a cloud-based subscription version of Microsoft Office dubbed Office 365.

If there’s any project that screams, “Ray Ozzie built me!” it’s this one.  Office 365 is a full-service cloud-based subscription offering designed to cater to businesses both small and large with variable pricing depending on features.  For businesses with less than 25 licenses, Office 365 is a $6-per-month service that provides the full Office experience, and none of the hassles:  Office Web Apps (Word, Excel, and PowerPoint) are combined with collaboration service SharePoint, email program Exchange, and communication software Lync.  Office 365 replaces various other proto-cloud offerings, such as Microsoft’s Business Productivity Online Suite (BPOS), Office Live Small Business, and Live@edu.

Even more important for Microsoft, they’re jumping into the cloud computing game without giving a significant head start to Google.  Hopefully, MS is also working on a personal-use version of Azure to compete with Google Chrome OS.  Something tells me they’re just waiting to release that particular product at the right time.

Tags: Microsoft Office, Microsoft, cloud computing, Microsoft Office 365, Office 365, Ray Ozzie, cloud-based Office, Google Apps, web-based Office software suite, Microsoft products, new products, subscription-based Office

I’ve never had a problem eating food from a gas station.  Just two weeks ago, I ate a couple of hot dogs purchased from a gas station.  They were delicious.  That’s not the first time I’ve eaten gas station food, and I doubt it will be the last.  There’s nothing like a fun food novelty. […]

Commissioner Roger Goodell gathered 32 NFL owners for one big question.  One of the league’s most wanderlust-stricken franchises is looking to move again.  The Oakland-Los Angeles-Oakland Raiders, tired of gutting it out in a run-down stadium, were once again looking for greener pastures.  Only the Miami Dolphins refused to cooperate.  With a vote of 31-1, […]

In 2006, an injury to Dallas Cowboys starting quarterback Drew Bledsoe opened the door for an undrafted free agent by the name of Tony Romo to take the helm of America’s Team and lead the Dallas Cowboys to an early playoff exit.  Bledsoe went from starter to afterthought in a season.  Now, the circle continues […]

For 89 years, Oscars has never had a major mistake.  The last few Oscars might have had a few flubs, but at least they never got the most important category of the night wrong.  Well, that’s now changed, all thanks to OG Bonnie and Clyde legends Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway.  When Faye Dunaway called […]

Tom Brady has been wildly successful, if controversial.  He’s the first quarterback ever to win five Super Bowls and only the second player to do so after Charles Haley.  Unlike Haley, Brady won all his Super Bowls with the same team, the New England Patriots.  The only thing that seems to be able to stop […]

Ben Affleck, no matter what you might think of him, is a talented actor and director.  He’s got the goods, but he’s smart enough to know when he’s in over his head.  All along, since he took on the mantle of Batman, he’s had his eyes on writing, directing, and starring as the Caped Crusader. […]

In May, students for the for-profit American College of Education were running into some problems.  Their access to email accounts and course information was locked down by Google, who had disabled their accounts.  The reason why?  A fired IT worker for the American College of Education locked the school out of their Google cloud account. […]