Partner Hosting Opportunities Expanded

Hosted Microsoft applications and services, such as CRM Live and Office Live, have caused concern among Microsoft partners that the company wants to dominate the market for Web-based applications. At the same time, the company has evolved its policies for partners hosting Microsoft-based solutions in hopes that its platforms will be used widely for hosted solutions, regardless of who’s hosting them. In the last two years, Microsoft has released tools and offers intended to spark interest among development partners in hosting their own solutions, or in making their own “software as a service” (SaaS) offerings available through other service providers.

Evolution of SaaS

Microsoft has taken a series of steps to make its product line more accessible to customers who prefer to pay a monthly fee for access to hosted applications.

Microsoft has given various names to such programs over the years, beginning with its Application Service Provider program in 2000, followed by its Service Provider Licensing Agreement (SPLA) in 2001. These programs made it possible for service providers to host a wide range of Microsoft products and to offer them to customers at low monthly rates, such as about US$3 a month for a hosted Exchange mailbox.