Cloud Computing: Software plus Services explained
By: Steve Clayton /
Tags: azure, cloud computing, Data centre, Mobile
Ray Ozzie introduced the term Software plus Services about 3 years ago and since then it’s where I have focused all of my time at Microsoft.
It’s perhaps no surprise then that I’m often asked what is Software plus Services (S+S)? Is it just Microsoft’s way of saying SaaS (Software as a Service)? The answer to the latter is nope, it’s not our way of talking SaaS though that is actually part of S+S. I found myself getting my answer down to a few key phrases like “choice” or the ability to combine on-premises software with cloud software. I liked Stephen Elop’s recent way of explaining it as an approach that doesn’t issue an ultimatum to a customer that everything must go to the cloud. Choice in other words.
Anyway, I found myself answering the question often enough that I thought it’d be easier to put together a short, fun video that explained it way more eloquently than I can. Along with some friends in Microsoft’s HQ in Seattle, this is what we came up with