Microsoft Brings Together 25 Partners For The Cloud OS Network To Drive More Windows Azure Use
Microsoft has been adding firepower to its Windows Azure cloud platform to compete against the likes of Google, Amazon and Dropbox and Box to attract enterprise users to create, host and distribute data around the world.
Context & Ripple Effects
Microsoft had been framing a “Cloud OS” strategy as early as 2007, then used its 2013 Build conference to push cloud services to developers. The 25-company network turns that positioning into an ecosystem effort around Windows Azure, aimed at enterprise customers evaluating Microsoft against Amazon and Google.
First-order effects
- Microsoft gains 25 partners working within the Cloud OS Network, expanding the set of companies positioned to promote Windows Azure to enterprise customers.
- The participating partners gain a formal association with Microsoft’s cloud platform, making Azure a more central part of their enterprise-facing offerings.
Second-order effects
- Amazon and Google face a more coordinated Microsoft partner ecosystem in enterprise sales cycles, where cloud adoption depends on software, hosting, and service relationships rather than infrastructure alone.
- Enterprise buyers gain another route to evaluate Azure through existing technology suppliers, reducing Microsoft’s reliance on direct platform messaging.
Third-order effects
- If partner networks become a durable route to cloud adoption, competition will shift toward the breadth and integration of each vendor’s ecosystem, not only the underlying cloud service.
- Microsoft’s Cloud OS strategy points toward enterprise cloud platforms being sold as connected stacks of software and partner services rather than standalone hosting products.
The trend: Enterprise cloud vendors are using partner ecosystems to turn infrastructure platforms into broader, integrated technology stacks.