Screw Redmond, Microsoft is moving to the Cloud

Yesterday, Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft addressed students at the University of Washington. Ballmer revealed the new direction for Microsoft as a whole, confiding that 70% of employees were currently engaged in work that is cloud-related. In one years time, Ballmer expects that number to to jump to 90%.

“We’re all in,” he says. “This is the bet for our company.” -Steve Ballmer

The cloud, of course, is the term used when data is stored online, not locally. Google has been prodding businesses and users to move their data to Google’s cloud through services like Gmail and Google apps that store content online which is accessible by a host of devices. Microsoft has reluctantly followed, dealing with how the move changes their entire business plan. Microsoft is re-engineering for the future and adjusting their business plan accordingly.

The cloud was part of just about everything Ballmer spoke about. From Windows Mobile, an older OS based on voice to Windows Phone based on cloud communications. From Office docs that were once stored locally to new versions coming in June that will free the data and make online sharing a priority.

Ballmer also let an interesting quip fly: “the cloud wants smarter devices.” Does that mean we’ll see more powerful mobile computers and software from Microsoft to compliment that? Or does it refer to Windows Phone and more powerful chips?

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