Microsoft has been taking a long, hard look at its cloud strategy, in the face of competition from the likes of Apple's iCloud and Google's Docs and other services. This week, the team behind Microsoft's SkyDrive cloud storage service outlined its thinking on what the company needs to do with its cloud strategy, and made frank comparisons with offerings from Apple and Google.
SkyDrive group program manager Omar Shahine broke personal cloud services down into three types: File clouds, such as Microsoft's own SkyDrive service; Device clouds, with Apple's iCloud the prime example, as it requires Apple devices; and App clouds. The last group is broken down into two subcategories—those built from the ground up for the cloud, such as Google Docs and Evernote, and those that serve media to subscribers, such as Netflix and Pandora.
Microsoft also looked at the adoption of cloud services by specific user groups—college students, gadget fans, and photo enthusiasts. They found that fewer than 10 percent of college students considered using SkyDrive for their shared documents, even though most of them started and ended the documents in Microsoft Office.
Of course, the point of all this cloud soul-searching is that Microsoft wants Windows 8 and Windows Phone to offer more appealing cloud services. At Microsoft's Build Conference in September, the company showed how all Windows 8 users will get SkyDrive cloud accounts, and how developers can use it to build cloud support right into their apps. Mike Torres, group program manager of the SkyDrive Devices and Roaming, also wrote in depth about this topic on the Building Windows 8 blog.
But Shahine notes that all the existing personal cloud services have limitations, including his own team's SkyDrive service. He outlines both table stakes and winning factors for a cloud service that "seamlessly connects today’s files with tomorrow’s modern device and app experiences." Table stakes include simplicity, security, reasonable storage allowances, and the ability to work across any device.
Winning factors include cloud-enabling the whole PC: "A cloud tailored for this device would provide access to all of your content from anywhere, with no complex setup or configuration," he said. It also nees to "work with key apps and services to let you organize, collaborate, and share in new ways," and connect people, content, and devices at scale.
Microsoft is aware of people's pain points with SkyDrive, Shahine wrote, with complaints being addressed on Twitter. He also listed some usage stats:
- How many people are storing content on SkyDrive every month - 17 million (October 2011)
- How much content are they uploading and sharing every month - 360 million files (October 2011)
- How many devices connect to SkyDrive every month - 5 million devices (October 2011)
I couldn't readily find the comparable numbers for Google Docs, but a Google rep told me that Google Docs users numbered in the "tens of millions." I'll update this article if more detail becomes available.
In any case, it will be interesting to see the new shapes that SkyDrive takes in the face of tough competition from Apple's iCloud and Google's many cloud services. The blog post makes it clear that big changes are ahead for Microsoft's cloud.
For more from Michael, follow him on Twitter @mikemuch.