Last week was momentous for Microsoft. On Wednesday, it officially released Office 365, its cloud-hosted application suite, and, as expected, the media was all over it. The NY Times, Huffington Post and Wall Street Journal weighed in, as did the usual tech pubs like InformationWeek, ZDNet and NetworkWorld.

A look at the hype surrounding Office 365.

Some of the press centered on the particulars — what exactly it is, how to use it, why you should care — while other reports looked at what cloud computing means for business, and for Google.

Of note is ZDNet’s report on a Forrester study, “The ROI of Cloud Apps,” which looks at points companies should consider before signing up.

And then there’s the blog post from Shan Sinha, Google Apps product manager — “365 reasons to consider Google Apps.” Be sure to read the comments section. Read more…

Jenny Sweeney Cloud Computing, Google Apps, Office 365 Huffington Post, NetworkWorld, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, ZDNet

If you follow tech news, you know the big three trends: the cloud, tablets and consumerization of IT. It’s an exciting time in enterprise IT (depending on who you talk to, of course).

But some tech journalists aren’t sold just yet. Microsoft Office still reigns, they say. Tablets don’t match the PC’s versatility or durability, they add. Here’s a rundown from some of the naysayers. Read and make your own judgment.

He maintains that Microsoft’s biggest competitor isn’t Google Apps, but earlier versions of Office.

What Revolution?

InfoWorld’s Eric Knorr is on fire. In his recent article, “The IT Revolution that Isn’t,” he picks apart the three biggest trends bit by bit.

On the cloud: “[L]ast time I looked, Microsoft Office still had over 80 percent market share. Will there be a rush to the cloud when Office 365 launches later this year? No way: Office 365 puts Exchange, SharePoint, and Lync servers in the cloud, but Office itself is meant to stay on the desktop.”

He maintains that Microsoft’s biggest competitor isn’t Google Apps, but earlier versions of Office. Read more…

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I was as excited as the next geek when Apple unveiled the iPad 2 (Faster! Lighter! Thinner! With two cameras!). But, for now at least, I’m going to set that story aside and focus on something a little different: That is, IT outsourcing and the general business public’s view of it.

I’m sure everyone has seen a parody featuring emotionally numb techs who speak little English and never divert from the script.

Most people have had some experience with outsourced help desks, whether calling their own company’s tech support or calling consumer help lines for tech needs. I’m sure everyone has seen a parody featuring emotionally numb techs who speak little English and never divert from the script. The common notion has been that outsourcing takes jobs away from US workers, and only benefits the bosses. Read more…

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As always, the last few weeks of the year are reserved for retrospection. This is the time of year when we make resolutions for better living, all while reading the endless Best Ofs and Top 10s courtesy the media, niche and mainstream. We aren’t going to offer a standard Top 10 in this post, nor are we going to come up with any flimsy resolutions; we’re just going to take a look at what the business tech world’s been yapping about all year.

“The iPad is becoming, in effect, a jumbo BlackBerry.”

If there were three main themes this year in tech, they were this:

• The consumerization of IT/BYO tech
• Enterprise domination by iPads and tablets
• The increasing use of mobile devices for business and the growing need for specialized mobile IT support

Here’s a look at some recent bookmark-worthy articles that touch upon these topics: Read more…

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This week we have one lone term, but it’s loaded: The Cloud.

At the very least, you probably have heard the term dropped at a meeting or two. Or, you may just be chin-deep in the cloud, scrambling to find a way to use it to break your company’s Microsoft-branded shackles.

If you are one of the former, who know it’s there but don’t know much more about it, the top tech publications have your back. Ars Technica and Informationweek recently published (almost) everything you need to know about cloud computing. Here’s a rundown:

Level 1, Working knowledge of computing: If you know of the cloud but nothing more, read Ars Technica’s intro piece. It’s a rich, informative primer that covers everything from the history of client-server computing to the rise in popularity of the grid and “utility computing.”

The article, written by Jon Stokes, also touches upon the unfortunate name that seems to have stuck.

“It doesn’t help that the image conjured by the word is of something vaporous, flimsy and fleeting—,” he writes. “Whatever cloud is, it doesn’t sound like the kind of thing you want to entrust critical business functions to.” This brings us to the next article:

Level 2, C-level exec with computing knowledge but more concerned with selling the idea: The cloud is supposed to revolutionize the way we work. It promises to end to waste and redundancy in the enterprise, lower costs and produce happier workers. But when it comes to what it’s called, the name doesn’t fit the face. (Think of the whole “swine flu” vs. “H1N1” debate.) Read more…

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In a May article eWeek envisioned a mobile workforce in the near future, where employees were issued images rather than hard drives, and could get most, if not all, of their work done on the go, using a laptop or a smart phone.

With the recent high-profile smart phone and netbook releases, plus the growing interest in cloud computing and Google Apps, are we any closer?

Is Microsoft Office an undeniable fact of life?

Apple, Google and other companies who hold a stake would like you think we are, but the analysts are weighing in with a big, fat “no.” For now, that is.

Exhibit A, cloud computing is still a lofty idea: Judging by the way cloud computing has been covered in the press, you would think Office was ready for a spot in the Computer History Museum. But the cloud isn’t gathering quite that fast.

In a recent study, Forrester Research Inc. found that 80 percent of respondents were still supporting MS Office, while a scant 3 percent were supporting Google Apps. Read more…

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