….not my words, but those of Microsoft on the launch of their new online application Office 365. The cynical amongst us might say that Microsoft have taken an “if you can’t beat them, join them approach” as they begin to appreciate the major impact that Google Apps has had on the online segment, but I for one welcome their entry into the Cloud. The market is really hotting up.
When a major player such as Microsoft makes such a commitment to the Cloud, it sends a message that this is now the way forward and is no longer exclusively for the techno early adopters.
What is now needed, especially in the professional services market, is for those software developers who have hitherto only written for the desktop, to embrace the cloud and develop their applications for it…. Why is there no cloud enabled tax software for example?
The market place is changing, and whilst I have in the past bemoaned the slow take-up by accountants, it is now the turn of the software market to up the ante and, as our American cousins would say, go with the programme.
As for the accounting market, there has been a major sea change in response, even over the last few months. I have just returned from conferences in Cyprus and Finland where I have been presenting to international associations and the level of interest has been amazing.
So we are now starting a new chapter in the Cloud saga….. I for one can’t wait to see how it turns out.