And I don’t mean Azure.
Reading CloudNews the other day (yes, even the CloudAve team know where to go for the best Cloud Computing news 
) , I came across this press release that announces Microsoft‘s partnership with Fengyun Network Services which sees Microsoft provide some backend technology while Fengyun customises Microsoft applications for specific industrues. The portal is live – but my Mandarin isn’t very good so I have no idea what they’re actually offering.
The press release states however that;
Microsoft will provide SaaS back-end technology and SaaS platform software, while Fengyun will build on Microsoft frameworks to custom-tailor Microsoft-provided software to better fit the needs of different industries, and then finally to provide these solutions to SME users
So is this a way for Microsoft to slowly morph itself to SaaS? Developing new software offerings directly for SaaS delivery rather than installed? Or is it similar to what I posted about awhile ago, Microsoft providing existing installed applications as SaaS in *third world* countries?
The former is highly unlikely I’m afraid – Microsoft dabbles with these sort of geographic specific partnerships from time to time. It’s a way to eke out a few more percentage points of market share rather than providing any real new strategic direction.
However as a test case it’s going to be interesting to watch – customisation of software hasn’t been a forte of Microsofts thus far, in this world of the long tail however customers will more and more demand a tailored solution – these sorts of partnershps could just be a way for MS to deliver on that demand.
