Google, Microsoft Vie for Asia Pacific SME Cloud Computing Market

By | 16 March, 2012

Cloud service providers like Google and Microsoft are neck-in-neck in the competition for Asia Pacific cloud computing market, and these will have to woo small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in order to gain traction. The two major competitors have different approaches to their cloud offerings, though, and their success will be highly determined by the existing infrastructure and corporate culture of target clients.

Cloud computing is on the rise in the Asia Pacific region, although providers like Google and Microsoft will have to closely work with channel partners in order to attract SME customers. (Photo: Shutterstock)

Cloud service providers will need to focus on the region’s growing SME base, reports ZDNet. Providers like Google and Microsoft will also have to work closely with channel partners to ensure better support in their product deployment. The challenge here, though, is making sure the cloud deployments are in line with clients’ existing enterprise IT plans and activities.

IDC Asia-Pacific analyst Daniel-Zoe Jimenez notes that the region comprises a “mosaic of cultures,” and varying levels of software and cloud maturity, which can affect purchase decisions. Cloud services are likewise “relatively new” as a component of companies’ enterprise IT portfolio.

Given these, Microsoft and Google are taking different approaches in attracting their potential market. Google focuses on providing a 100% web-based experience with its enterprise Google Apps offering, which is a “clean-slate approach based on entirely modern technologies designed for today’s world.” Google Apps is the enterprise-grade online application suite offered by the search giant, which includes Gmail, Documents, Calendar, and likewise offers third-party application support.

On the other hand, Microsoft offers a mix of SaaS and on-premise offerings with Office 365, which enables the company to support existing IT infrastructure, which might include on-premise hardware, services and applications. This enables companies to go for staged and tiered adoption of cloud services, which can work hand-in-hand with existing implementations of enterprise Microsoft products like Exchange and Active Directory.

But it’s not only the consumers that Google and Microsoft will need to worry about. With other strong competitors like Cisco, IBM, Zoho.com and even other local offerings, Google and Microsoft will have to beef up their channel partnerships. As such, both Google and Microsoft are making strategic partnerships with telecom providers in the Asia Pacific region in order to improve their potential market for enterprise customers.



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