Microsoft Corp (MSFT)

[DocLevi]

Positive news on deal with Salesforce and letting us that didn't know or cared before that they made a deal with Oracle to certify software for the cloud last year....

It would be better to explain why "the cloud" is innovation as everything it supposedly is doing was done before anyway, instead acting like its something new, (because on the surface its the same thing, computing... So your cloud commercial is focusing on the wrong thing, it does show anything different to us the result of computing... It's like taking a sloopy-joe and calling it a manwhich... lol come-on we're not that stupid...

And on Microsoft search, it may have been something, and never has been presented right to the user as Microsoft tried forcing that crap presentation on people with MSN site they kept dumping on us via free Hotmail accounts, I always used Yahoo search back then (don't care if they used your search engine), then they messed it up and I went to Google. I don't think Microsoft will ever work as Gates/Ballmer obviously want to fart in our face and force their crap on us (Bing and past MSN)...

It wasn't for Microsoft Office they'd be dead.

Gates/Ballmer/Allen ... did you ever figure out they went around your Window patent with handheld units (thanks to you default small startup size of IE it probably hit Jobs one day... I could take the mobile phone and use it as a Window... BINGooooooh...

Microsoft And Salesforce Ink Cloud Deal

Thursday, May 29, 2014 5:00 PM
http://thestockmarketwatch.com/news/read.aspx/microsoft-and-salesforce-ink-cloud-deal/b0e9e114e630ed095f28680b7557f5c8/

Sources close to the action told Bloomberg that Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) were close to an agreement that would allow Microsoft customers on the company’s Azure cloud service to utilize Salesforce enterprise software.

Those rumors were confirmed Thursday afternoon.

The deal could signal the cementing of a potential change in attitude on the part of Microsoft regarding its relationship with rivals.

Bloomberg sources also indicated that there were talks about integrating data from Salesforce products with Microsoft Office. ZDNet pointed out such a deal would be very similar to one inked between Microsoft and SAP AG a few weeks ago. In that deal, Microsoft said several of SAP AG’s business apps would be certified to run on Windows Server and Linux virtual machines on Azure by June.

Related: Google's Standalone Answer To Microsoft Office For iPad

The SAP AG deal also included provisions for integrating its software applications with Microsoft Office 365.

In addition, Microsoft and Oracle signed an agreement last year in which some Oracle applications would be certified to run on Azure.

Such deals, difficult as they might be to achieve, reflect a growing sentiment among consumers – especially in business - that they want the ability to use a variety of integrated software products from multiple vendors on the same platform.

New Microsoft CEO, Satya Nadella, has said he wants to grow the company’s presence in the cloud. Nadella came to the CEO position as someone known for reaching out to longtime Microsoft rivals. He was a key player in last year’s agreement with Oracle, although former CEO Steve Ballmer presided over the deal.

All that said, a Microsoft/Salesforce deal would be huge on its own merit, as Gigaom points out. Referring to rumored talks, the website’s headline started with the words, “Pigs flying?”

It is worth noting, as Gigaom did, that Microsoft has spent a lot of time and resources working on Dynamics CRM, aimed squarely at rival, Salesforce.

Senior analyst at Bernstein Research, Mark Moerdler said any deal between Microsoft and Salesforce might be limited to “Salesforce.com’s Sales Cloud, Service Cloud and possibly Force.com as these are the most synergistic to Microsoft cloud offerings.”

Ultimately, Microsoft’s desire to get as much enterprise on Azure as possible may trump concerns about competing software and maintaining rivalries.

It would appear the Azure push was starting to make progress. Gigaom noted that Gartner’s latest Magic Quadrant for cloud infrastructure as a service showed Microsoft’s Azure making big strides.

In addition to Amazon, longtime occupant of the space, Microsoft is the only other company in the top quadrant.

At the time of this writing, Jim Probasco had no position in any mentioned securities.

© 2014 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

I was starting to give-in to Microsoft with XP and ex-DEC VMS operating system talent working for them... then some jerk messed it up... Buzz? Microsoft is the buzz (said on CNBC this morning)... oh, yeah, for what-the-heck are they doing? Based on pass, nothing for our good... So Ballmer the Office creator? Y'all owe him everything... Gates ruinning computing for his Xbox? Still got your XBOX stuff out there while everyone else has handhelds? LOL

We (computing) should've gone to voice recognition 15 years ago and its taking handhelds and no-text-while-driving to get us there.... You guys are so short of being there as yeah I have a Microsoft... Fix it!