Microsoft creating new division for SMBs to heighten cloud abilities

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

With Microsoft now claiming to be all-in for the cloud, the software giant has announced it has created a division focused solely on small- and medium-sized businesses.

In hopes of poaching customers from rivals such as Google and Apple, Microsoft’s new SMB division combines all of its sales, technical, marketing and distribution resources into one sector in hopes of pooling more than 100,000 SMB cloud providers.

Current vice president of the company’s U.S. partner strategy, Cindy Bates, will head the new division. Bates will thus become responsible for developing the division’s business strategy as well as focusing on sales, marketing and distribution.

During the announcement of the new division, Microsoft officials stated the SMB segment is “shaping up to be a very competitive battleground,” as “new competitors [are] coming in and trying to take market share.” The announcement concluded stating the new division will provide the “foundation for cloud and annuity penetration.”

Many SMBs have turned toward the cloud as a cost-effective solution for IT responsibilities. Twenty-five percent of SMBs responding to a recent eWeek survey stated they plan to utilize cloud computing services in 2010.