Hosted Messaging and Collaboration Services from Microsoft

Hosted versions of three Microsoft server applications—Communications Server 2007, Exchange 2007, and SharePoint 2007—are at the center of Microsoft Online, a set of new subscription-based services from Microsoft for large organizations. The move puts the company into direct competition with partners who offer hosted versions of those servers today. However, these online services will offer only a subset of server features, leaving gaps that partners can fill or supplement, and helping Microsoft avoid cannibalization of its on-premise server software.

Microsoft’s Subscription Push

Microsoft Online is Microsoft’s most ambitious effort so far to build a subscription-based business from its enterprise customers. At various conferences in recent years, such as meetings with financial analysts and partners, company executives have identified subscription services and “software plus services” as a high priority. Microsoft’s highest-profile technical hire in recent years, Ray Ozzie, has a mandate to build subscriptions into a major business.