Microsoft reports $6.38 bn in profits, despite slow sales of Office

Microsoft has just announced its Q2 earnings for the 2013 financial year and though the company managed to rake in $21.5 billion, $6.38 billion of which is pure profit, the numbers seem to be less than previously expected. The dip in profits is being attributed to the impending launch of the next MS Office Suite, Office 2013.

While overall profit numbers look good, with each Redmond share closing at $0.76, one cent higher than the $0.75 analysts had predicted, the somewhat impressive sales numbers of Windows 8 were definitely offset by the slowing sales of the company’s current-generation productivity suite. While Microsoft Office 2013 has already been made available to the enterprise subscriber base, the consumer build of Office 2013 is slated for a January 2013 release, so it’s quite expected that the soon-to-be-outdated version of Office would not rack up impressive sales figures.

However, Office wasn’t the only department with disappointing numbers due to an impending launch. It is being reported that the Entertainment and Devices division also saw a dip in earnings, raking in $3.77 billion during a strong holiday season, but 7 percent lower than the figures from the same time last year. This is being attributed to many people holding off on purchasing an Xbox 360, given the rumours that Microsoft may be announcing the next-gen version of the console at E3 this year.

A dip in earnings prior to launch is an expected feature of fiscal quarters, and even though Microsoft may not have raked in the kind of money that was being projected, it still did manage to pocket a whopping $6.38 billion thanks to Windows 8 and its Server and Enterprise business.



Source: http://www.thinkdigit.com/Software/Microsoft-reports-638-bn-in-profits-despite_13201.html

Microsoft certifies more than 75,000 apps for Windows Phone 8 in 2012

Microsoft has certified more than 75,000 apps for its latest smartphone operating system, Windows Phone 8. On its official blog, Microsoft claims that on average, a Windows Phone user downloaded more than 54 apps per person. The Windows Blog says, “Over the last year we’ve certified and published over 75,000 new apps and games (more than doubling the catalog size) and over 300,000 app updates. In addition, this year we added the capability for customers to tell us if they have a concern about an app.”

Microsoft's senior director for Windows Marketplace, Todd Brix said, "As a direct result of our investments, Windows Phone customers now download, buy, and use more apps than at any time since we first launched Windows Phone 7 two years ago."

Based on customer feedback, Microsoft also found that 85 percent of Windows Phone 8 users indicate they would choose apps with Live Tile functionality over those without. The company said that it also worked to expand opportunities for developers this year. Microsoft has seen a 40 percent increase in month-over-month developer revenue in the 30 days since the current SDK release.

Windows Phone 8 was met with a mixed response when it was launched. The OS finally brought with it features that bring it at par with iOS and Android. Some of these features include expandable memory, support for multi-core processors and high resolution display, and more. The downside to the launch of the OS was that existing smartphones in the market that ran Windows Phone 7.5 were not eligible to receive the new OS but the 7.8 update that brought some features of the new OS to the existing devices.

We have seen some really good Windows Phone 8-based devices launch in the recent past, and we recently reviewed the HTC Windows Phone 8X (read our review here). We can’t wait to see the Nokia Lumia 920 and the Samsung Ativ S in action as well. We have also compared the top Windows Phone 8 devices available in the market. You can read about the devices here.


Source: http://www.thinkdigit.com/Apps/Microsoft-certifies-more-than-75000-apps-for_12850.html

Windows Store goes past 20,000 apps

The Windows Store in Windows 8 has gone past 20,000 apps after almost a month since its launch. The Windows 8 store added 7,000 apps in the last two weeks. Though it's not known when it hit the landmark, but Win App Update, which keeps tracks of the totals, claims the Windows Store hit the milestone on Tuesday this week.

According to Win App Update, about 17,958 of the apps (87 percent) are free. It's notable not all apps are available in all regions and languages. Almost 13,000 of those are available in the U.S., 14,000 in Canada and 11,000 in the U.K.

Earlier this month, the Windows 8 store had about 12,895 apps. This means the store went on to add about 7,715 apps in the last 17 days, averaging more than 453 apps per day. The milestone means the Windows store's growth has once again accelerated, as it initially averaged 500 apps additions daily and then dipped to 300 apps per day recently.

At this rate, the Windows 8 store is estimated to go past 30,000 mark by end of this year or may close in on 40,000 apps. The coming holiday season may see developers adding more apps to Windows 8. Developers would be looking to cash in on 'massive' sales of the Windows 8-ready devices around the world.

The Windows 8 store is likely to see 'new-style' apps, which are optimised for the Metro UI. Check out The 10 best new-style Windows 8 apps.

Source: http://www.thinkdigit.com/Apps/Windows-Store-goes-past-20000-apps_11481.html

Microsoft to release Karaoke app for Xbox 360, requires you to go Gold

Microsoft is collaborating with The Stingray channel and releasing a Karaoke app for the Xbox 360 in time for the holidays. The app will be available for use to members who are subscribers of the Xbox Live Gold service.

Interestingly, unlike other music based games which come with a library of tracks built-in along with offering purchasing of songs outright, Karaoke will only permit streaming of songs from its servers to the Xbox 360 in time slots of 2 hours, 6 hours and 24 hours.

While this is a deviation from the regular model of music games, what is similar is that you will need additional peripherals to make this work. What’s needed is an Xbox headset with a mic along with a USB mic to belt your off tune vocals into. However, the pay-per-time-slot model is something that is very prevalent in countries like Japan and Korea, where “Karaoke” is a very popular social activity.

The Karaoke app will come with a few songs that will be free to play, but the entire library of 800 songs, which is being constantly updated, will only be accessible after purchasing a 2-hour, 6-hour or 24-hour play time token.

Purchases can be made using Microsoft Points, a currency that’s used for transactions over the Xbox Live network. Earlier this year, Microsoft had decided to stop using Microsoft Points for transactions related to purchasing of movies and music, giving many hope that it would be abolished from the Xbox Live network as well, but no such end seems in sight.

Source: http://www.thinkdigit.com/Gaming/Microsoft-to-release-Karaoke-app-for-Xbox_11435.html

Zuckerberg reveals Microsoft was his backup plan, if Facebook had failed

Speaking at Stanford University, Facebook founder, Mark Zuckerberg revealed that if his website had failed to pick up, he’d have gone over to Microsoft to work as an engineer. What’s not clear is whether he already had an offer or had hoped that the Redmond giant would hire him.

Zuckerberg did bring up the Harvard connection though, as a lot of Harvard graduates want to work for Microsoft. It could also be the fact that both Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg were Harvard dropouts.

Zuckerberg took the opportunity to address many issues, including rumours that he was against ads in the nascent stages of Facebook. He said he in fact was all for them as the revenue would have helped purchase more servers, as he was obsessed with making sure the social networking site never experienced downtime. More servers also meant that the website could expand the social net it cast, allowing more user sign-ups which eventually led to the site crossing the billion users mark.

Zuckerberg also shared with the audience that the programmers at Facebook considered releasing a course catalog to using the social networking site, especially the sections pertinent to privacy.

Given how important online privacy has become, a guide to using these features of Facebook would have been extremely useful. Whether such a document will be released or not isn’t clear, but we can only hope that it sees the light of day.

Source: http://www.thinkdigit.com/Internet/Zuckerberg-reveals-Microsoft-was-his-backup-plan_11128.html

Google allows developers from India to sell paid apps on Play store

App developers in India can now also sell paid apps on Google's Play Store. Google recently included India in the list of the countries that may register as Google Checkout merchants and sell paid applications. Prior to this, Indian app developers were only allowed to distribute free apps on Google's app store.

The inclusion of India comes months after Google added countries such as Czech Republic, Israel, Poland and Mexico in that list. With addition of India, there are now 31 countries from where developers are allowed to sell paid apps.

Google has also listed a few pointers for developers looking to post a paid app on Play store, such as "Google Checkout account which you need to link to your Google Play developer account can only be linked once from within the developer account interface". Moreover, once accounts are linked, they cannot be removed, changed or updated. If you need to do this, you will have to sign up for a new developer account by paying the fee of $25 US. This is supposed to allow developers to launch paid apps, include in-app purchases and also launch a paid ad-free version for their ad-supported apps. Find out more here.

Google's move could provide a huge impetus to its app store, which according to a recent estimate has about 600,000 Android apps. As Android Police in its report points out “this is a big deal. Not only because India is the second-most populous nation on earth, but because mobile technology and software development have absolutely exploded there. Android is absolutely dominating the country thanks to budget handsets.”

Also, it would help the Indian developers make more money. So far the developers depended on advertisements as s source for revenue. We recently saw Microsoft attempting to tap the growing app developers industry in India for its latest Windows Phone 8 platform. Microsoft's coding festival held in Bangalore got itself into the Guinness Book of World Records for the maximum number of developers coding for a single event at a common location.


Source: http://www.thinkdigit.com/Apps/Google-allows-developers-from-India-to-sell_10849.html

Bigflix app now available on Windows Phone Marketplace

India's movie on demand service Bigflix has launched an app for Windows Phone, after releasing apps for Android and iOS. Users can download the Bigflix app for free from Windows Phone Marketplace.

Users can use their same log in credentials to watch movies on smartphones, tablets or PCs and laptops. Bigflix points out that the Windows Phone 7.5 OS has been especially optimised for seamless multimedia experience on mobile devices, and leverages on apps such as Bigflix.

Windows Marketplace is one of the fastest growing apps store as it has garnered over 50,000 apps in less than a year since the launch of the Windows Phone 7.5 in the country.

Speaking on the launch, Mr. Shreyash Sigtia, Business Head, Bigflix said, “With the mobile platform becoming popular with high-end smartphones users globally, Bigflix aims to fulfill the need gap of Indian movies on Windows Phone. I am sure that the Bigflix app will be able to achieve the same success it has witnessed on iOS and Android on the Windows Phone platform too.”

Mr. Vineet Durani, Director - Windows Phone Business Group, Microsoft Corporation India Pvt. Ltd. said, “All of us love our daily dose of movies and Bollywood and Bigflix gives you yet another compelling reason to stay glued to your Windows Phone. With no ads and no breaks between you and the latest film; watching films via Bigflix is pure pleasure.”

Source: http://www.thinkdigit.com/Apps/Bigflix-app-now-available-on-Windows-Phone_10627.html

Yes, a Microsoft Store wows a naysayer

BOSTON -- OK, so Microsoft impressed me.

Microsoft opened its first local retail store here this morning. It's in the upscale Prudential Center in the city's equally upscale Back Bay. It also happens to be across the street from a very large and very sleek Apple store -- a common occurrence, it seems, for locations of new Microsoft stores.

Here's what I expected to write about the new Microsoft Store: A somewhat snarky but data-driven piece on Microsoft aping Apple's retail strategy and how it shows the desperation of this once-mighty company. I expected to say this store was a cheap knockoff of Apple's giant, multi-story place across the street. Black velvet Elvis paintings, Formica counters? I dunno. My expectations were not high.

I also expected to mention that last week I sat in on an engineers' meeting at a local cloud-computing startup called Acquia, and was stunned to see that every one of the 30 or so people in the room was working on a Mac. When even the most hardcore of developers are working on Macs, it's a bad a sign for Microsoft. That's the kind of ecosystem, once established, that can take years to break. And Microsoft certainly knows a thing or two about courting developers and creating ecosystems that take years to break.

But here's what I find myself writing now after visiting the new Microsoft Store here: Yes, the company is in a tough spot. It's way behind in the two hottest consumer electronics markets, tablet computing and smartphones. It's made plenty of mistakes over the last 10 years. Heck, I'm writing this on a MacBook because I became so frustrated with the Vista operating system that I gave up on Windows.

But, and it's a big "but" based more on a hunch that hard data, Microsoft seems to understand how it's been consistently outmaneuvered by Apple, Google, and all those companies in the Android mobile orbit. The company gets it, and it's fighting back.

Of course, Microsoft has to produce better products, and we'll find out over the next few months with the next version of Windows, the Surface, and other releases if it has managed to do that.

It also needs to create a better consumer experience, and that's where the stores come in. When Apple first opened its stores, critics scoffed. Clearly, they were wrong. The stores became a conduit to customers. When you buy an Apple product, it's the beginning of your relationship with that company, not the end of it. The convenience of those stores (yes, not everyone is close enough to an Apple store to enjoy that experience) and the education they can provide are priceless to a company that prides itself on customer loyalty.

The Microsoft Store that opened in Boston today was Microsoft's 23rd. They are already in cities ranging from Palo Alto, Calif., to Austin, Texas. It expects to open 44 by next June and 75 total. I say, open even more. Microsoft fans like 34-year-old Michael Hayes of Boston, who was standing in line to get into the store this morning, think these stores allow Microsoft to better connect with its customers.

"I think it's assumed people know how to use Microsoft products. There's not enough training so people understand what they're using," Hayes said. And Hayes, who said he works for a third-party company that trains retailers to sell Microsoft products, might know a thing or two about how these products are sold.

Further back in the line, Pavan Veenla, a graduate student at the nearby Northeastern University, was simply standing in line because he was excited to see a Microsoft Store and what they had to offer (for the record, he uses a Dell laptop running Windows 7). Of course, he added, last week he stopped into the Apple Store across the street and bought an iPhone 4S.

Microsoft officials estimate about 700 people waited to get into the 3,600-square-foot store (granted, a few of them might have been tourists confused by the line bumping into the Duck Boats kiosk). It was a slick event, worthy of, yes, that big computer store across the street. For those of you in Silicon Valley, the Prudential Center is kind of like the Stanford Shopping Center. For those of you in New York City, the Prudential Center is kind of like, well, New York City.

No doubt, this is just a start for Microsoft. Apple has more than 370 stores, it has all the momentum in the world, and it (did you ever think this was possible five years ago?) even has far more money than Microsoft.

Celtics star Paul Pierce is expected to stop by the new store to play some Xbox games this evening. And Saturday, rock star Lenny Kravitz is supposed to perform at a Microsoft-hosted event in town. That 700 people lined up as early as 5 a.m. to get into the new store might have something to do with Microsoft giving away free tickets to the show. Fair enough. Now I'm not much of a Lenny Kravitz fan (maybe I resent his great hair and tight abs), but good on Microsoft for putting on a show.

This is the part where planned to make a crack about how Microsoft and Lenny Kravitz are a perfect match because they were both more influential in the '90s. But people tell me he was great in "The Hunger Games." I'll take their word for it.

And I'll say this about the new (I almost just typed Apple) Microsoft Store: The people who work there are smart. A number of Ultrabooks are well-displayed. The kids love the Kinect station. It's brightly lit and the computer stations have plenty of elbow room. The walls are covered with video screens and store employees seem to be everywhere. And it provides the kind of relaxed customer experience Microsoft and its partners must provide to compete with Apple.

In other words, it ain't Best Buy.

Maybe I drank the Kool-Aid. But with its most ambitious product lineup in years, Microsoft has a great opportunity to win back the customers it has lost over the last 10 years or so. If it happens, its stores will be the tip of the spear in that fight.

Source: http://news.cnet.com/8301-10805_3-57499419-75/yes-a-microsoft-store-wows-a-naysayer/

Microsoft dropping 'Metro' name in Windows 8

Since Microsoft first showed off Windows 8 last year, the company has consistently referenced the operating system's dual interfaces - the standard, Windows desktop with which we're all familiar and the more mobile-friendly Metro-style option that replaces icons with apps.

Now it appears that we will bid adieu to the phrase "Metro style" before Windows 8 makes its official debut in October.

"We have used Metro style as a code name during the product development cycle across many of our product lines. As we get closer to launch and transition from industry dialog to a broad consumer dialog we will use our commercial names," a Microsoft spokeswoman said in a statement today.

News of the switch was first reported yesterday by The Verge, which said Microsoft was notifying its developers not to use the word "Metro" within their apps and swap that term for "New User Interface."

Despite the insistence from Redmond that Metro is simply a code name that it always planned to phase out, there are reports that the move was prompted by a trademark challenge from Germany-based Metro AG.

Metro AG did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Verge later pointed to an internal memo from Microsoft to its employees, which said that "discussions with an important European partner" prompted it to ditch the Metro moniker.

At the Windows 8 Consumer Preview launch in Barcelona earlier this year, Microsoft handed out a product guide that included a brief section on Metro style app principles.

"More than just an app platform, Metro style is a design philosophy that helps you build attractive, easy-to-use apps that will delight your customers with their intuitive and common interaction model," the guide said.

Common principles associated with Metro-type apps, according to Microsoft, include: fast and fluid; support for multiple states; support for the right contracts; live tiles; and settings and data that roam through the cloud.

The news comes several days after Microsoft released Windows 8 to manufacturers. It will roll out to several other groups in the coming weeks before its general availability on Oct. 26.

Source: http://www.thinkdigit.com/Software/Microsoft-dropping-Metro-name-in-Windows-8_10363.html

Microsoft's Office 15 intro comes without iPad flavor

For months, the Web teemed with rumors that Microsoft would launch Office for the iPad, making it the first touch-focused platform for the cash cow productivity suite.

But when Microsoft unveiled the next version of Office this week, it was clear the iPad would have to wait.

In an interview with CNET, Office division President Kurt DelBene said Microsoft's own Windows is the priority for the newest version of Office. The new touch-friendly productivity suite will debut on Windows 8, which launches in October, in large part because the operating system is the best showcase for Microsoft's application suite.

"We have a unique opportunity with Windows 8 style applications to push that even further," DelBene said.

DelBene didn't specifically address when, or even if, Microsoft would release a version of Office for the iPad, the dominant platform for touch-based tablet computing. But he made it clear that Microsoft would give Windows tablets the first crack at what for many companies remains a must-have application.

Of course, tablets running Windows 8 will need all the help they can get to compete against the iPad. The new Windows will be the first version of the dominant operating system to focus on touch computing and run on ARM chips, which should result in smaller designs. But it arrives more than two years after the iPad first hit store shelves. And Apple has vanquished every tablet rival that's tried to elbow its way into the market.

Months ahead of the new Office unveiling, rumors persisted that the productivity suite would arrive on the iPad later this year, initially fueled by an article in The Daily. A follow-up piece a few months later included a purported screenshot of the software in action, which Microsoft quickly claimed was fabricated. Last month, a report from Business Insider said the software would be ready to go for the iPad by November.

Microsoft is an active developer on Apple's iPad, as well as the iPhone, though has focused most of its efforts on its Bing search tool. Of the 23 applications the company has developed for iOS, it only charges for one of them -- the mobile tie-in to its XBOX game Kinectimals.

Despite those contributions, Microsoft has shown little interest in making pieces of Office available to users of Apple's iOS. So far, its efforts include a mobile version of OneNote and a version of its Lync communications software, two pieces of the Office puzzle, but arguably not the heavy hitters.

"They already have a toe in the water, but it's not a really healthy toe," says Michael Silver, a vice president and distinguished analyst at Gartner. "If Microsoft is really serious about continued competition in Office, and maintaining things, they will have to have an iPad version."

Of course, Office itself is among the most sought after applications not available for the iPad. Businesses use Excel for back office operations and Word to create marketing plans. As much as employees might want to bring their iPads into work, they are often hamstrung when it comes to completing tasks that require Office.

Several companies, including Apple, have tried to work around Office's absence from the iOS ecosystem. Microsoft Office documents that have been attached to e-mails can be read with Apple's built-in Mail application. Users can also open and edit several types of Microsoft Office files in their corresponding iWork apps, Apple's own suite of paid productivity applications.

For users who want more, companies like CloudOn and Onlive have solutions for both the iPad, and Android tablets that let you work with documents using virtualized versions of Microsoft's Office software. But Silver says these solutions can end up being a headache for businesses given Microsoft's complicated licensing agreements, and can leave power users who want more features yearning for more.

If Microsoft eventually offers an iOS version of Office, it would obviate the need for any of those work-around solutions. But for now, it's in Microsoft's best interest to make the best touch experience for Office on new Windows 8 devices.

"At least for the holiday season, the only tablet device you'll be able to get it on will be Windows RT," Silver said.

Source: http://news.cnet.com/8301-10805_3-57474351-75/microsofts-office-15-intro-comes-without-ipad-flavor

Skype Deal Is Unlikely to Pay Off for Microsoft

Skype

Microsoft has only recently embraced the Internet cloud. But from the perspective of its shareholders, that’s certainly where its $8.5 billion deal to buy Skype belongs.

In theory, it has potential advantages. In practice, Microsoft’s poor track record on mergers and acquisitions and the high price it is paying for Skype mean the transaction is unlikely to pay off.

The idea is that Microsoft can integrate Skype’s voice, video and messaging tools with Office e-mail and its mobile operating system. A recent deal with Nokia could support efforts to promote Microsoft’s smartphone platform, which is an also-ran. Adding Skype, one of the few Internet names other than Google to become a verb, could help, for instance to compete with Apple’s FaceTime video calling. And gaining a Microsoft-like acceptance behind corporate firewalls might extend Skype’s reach.

That all sounds good. But in 2007, the $6 billion acquisition of the online advertising group aQuantive — the biggest by Steven A. Ballmer, Microsoft’s chief executive, until the Skype deal — hasn’t borne any noticeable fruit in the battle with Google. Neither has the software giant’s search deal with Yahoo. Yet the price Mr. Ballmer has put on Skype, even without an auction, would require it to add huge value.

When Skype filed for an initial public offering late last year, a $5 billion price tag looked optimistic. Microsoft is paying almost 10 times revenue. Even Google trades at only a bit over five times. Put another way, Mr. Ballmer is paying more than 400 times last year’s operating income.

Sure, Skype is growing quickly. Monthly users increased 38 percent last year to 145 million, with the number of paying customers up 19 percent. And the total climbed to 170 million last month. To turn that operating income into a 10 percent annual return on investment, however, even on a pretax basis, it must grow fortyfold.

Microsoft can easily afford Skype. It had $50 billion of cash and short-term investments at the end of March. But it’s hard to see how the outlay, even from cash held overseas, is going to break even for the company’s shareholders. Microsoft was the biggest American loser of market capitalization on Tuesday, shedding more than $1.3 billion in value. That suggests investors in the software giant have a different verb in mind than Skype.

Munis Under Threat

Call it headline risk. Bad press, with stressed state finances, hammered the debt of local governments last year. But the $3 trillion market was never in as bad shape as the doomsayers made out. Still, an improving market — gains in 18 of the last 19 trading sessions through Monday, according to Janney Capital Markets — isn’t immune to stumbles as dysfunctional states tackle budget problems.

Meredith Whitney, a financial analyst, last year made a controversial call that “hundreds of billions of dollars” of municipal bonds would go bad. That helped drive down the market in munis. Yet nothing looks remotely on track for disaster on the scale that Ms. Whitney predicted.

There are less than $10 billion of defaulted bonds outstanding, with just $28 million of those coming from the safest instruments like bonds backed by a state, according to Municipal Market Advisors. Another $22 billion are admittedly showing signs of stress and bear watching, especially if the domestic economy sputters again.

In the meantime, prices have recovered some of their losses and yields on the average AAA-rated 10-year municipal bond have dropped about 13 percent to 2.7 percent this year. Low Treasury rates stemming from the Federal Reserve’s easy monetary policy have helped, but so has a dearth of supply. A surge of issuance could soften the market.

Then there’s demand. Outflows from muni bond mutual funds have slowed. They are running around $1 billion a week, according to Lipper, a firm that tracks fund flows. That’s less than half the pace earlier this year. But a few more of those bad headlines could have investors reaching for their wheelbarrows again.

Though the market seems stable for now, the finances of states like California and Illinois have an outsize influence on investors. The next fiscal year begins on July 1 for 46 of the 50 states, and budget negotiations will gather intensity in the coming weeks. Throw in concern over the federal debt ceiling, and a few jitters, deserved or not, could easily rattle munis.

Read More :- http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/11/business/11views.html

Google Apps For Business To Go Paid From May 10 In India

Google Apps For Business

Google Apps for Business, the browser-based office suite that revolutionised the way start-ups and SMBs use e-mail and productivity applications at work, will soon go paid for any business with more than 10 users in India.

Google Apps offers online solutions for e-mail, document editing, spread sheets and calendar management and collaboration with Gmail, Google Calendar, Docs and Sites. These web-based tools are hosted by Google itself and help streamline setup, minimise maintenance and reduce IT costs. Google claims that over three million businesses run Google Apps today.

Earlier, Google Apps for Business offered business users 100 e-mail IDs for free. Now, business users signing up for Google Apps for the first time after May 10, 2011 will be asked to use the paid Google Apps product if they have more than 10 e-mail accounts.

The website has not yet announced the change, but an e-mail message sent by the Google Apps Team reads: “We recently announced upcoming changes to the maximum number of users for Google Apps. As of May 10, any organisation that signs up for a new account will be required to use the paid Google Apps for Business product in order to create more than 10 users.”

Existing businesses will be able to continue to use Google Apps without being charged. Think of it as a bonus for adopting the cloud service first.

Globally, Google Apps for Business announced that it was going paid in 2009. It charged an annual fee of $50 per user, according to this pricing chart.

How does Google Apps differ from Google Apps for Business? While the former is a free service that allows anyone to activate up to 50 accounts and offers messaging apps, customised e-mail accounts for domains, Google Calendar and mobile access to the services, Google Apps for Business offers an additional set of security and support services.

Features such as Google Video for Business and Google Groups for Business are offered on Google Apps for Business. It also provides 25 GB e-mail storage per user, as well as enhanced support and security features. For example, with more administrator controls, you can enforce SSL, which means when you connect to your e-mail and data which are hosted online, the connection is always secure and hackers or IP thieves will not be able to access and steal company information. Various banks currently use SSL to secure online banking transactions.

By setting the required custom password strength, you will be able to ensure that employees’ e-mail inboxes are protected against information theft.

Google also offers 99.9 per cent uptime guarantee and 24/7 support, besides interoperability for Blackberry and Microsoft Outlook users.

A direct competitor to Google Apps for Business is Microsoft’s Office 365 and the tech giant had recently launched a public beta in India. Office 365 is Microsoft’s online productivity suite, which combines Office Web Apps, Exchange Online, SharePoint Online and Lync Online into a cloud service.

Office 365 is a paid service for an average of Rs 270 per user, per month, starting at Rs 90 per user, per month for instant messaging and presence applications. And more than 150,000 organisations have signed up to test it so far, the company has revealed.

Read More :- http://techcircle.vccircle.com/500/google-apps-for-business-to-go-paid-from-may-10-in-india/

Microsoft profit expected to rise

Microsoft

Microsoft Corp is expected to report an 18 per cent jump in quarterly profit, as its reliable Windows and Office franchises keep growing.

But that may not be enough to rouse its shares from a decade-long slumber or ease fears that its dominance of personal computing is waning.

The world's largest software company has sold a record-breaking 350 million licenses for its Windows 7 operating system since launching it 18 months ago, and its latest Office suite of applications is a hit with businesses.

But even if Microsoft follows most other tech companies and beats Wall Street's expectations -- as it has done for the last six quarters -- there is no evidence that it will turbocharger the stock, which trades around the same level it did 10 years ago.

Investors fear that new gadgets, led by Apple Inc's iPad, are the thin end of the wedge that will one day separate Microsoft from its core customers.

The new tablets "are making a sea of Microsoft customers comfortable using an operating system different than Microsoft's," Michael Yoshikami, chief executive of fund manager YCMNET Advisors, said earlier this week.

"You're going to see a migration away from the monopolistic dominance that Microsoft had, and that's worrisome for them."

Apple's iPad, along with a handful of tablets running Google Inc's Android system, are starting to eat at the edges of Microsoft's domination of personal computers.

PC sales -- the most reliable indicator of Microsoft's financial success -- fell 1 percent in the first three months of the year, according to one research firm.

VALUATION SAGS Long term, some see the new devices as unleashing a genie that Microsoft may never be able to put back in the bottle.

That fear has chilled Microsoft's stock, pushing it down 15 per cent in the last year, compared with a 16 percent gain in the tech-heavy Nasdaq.

Despite quarter after quarter of strong results for Microsoft -- the company racked up record sales and profit in the last three months of last year -- investors are unwilling to grant it the valuation they used to.

The stock is now trading at 9.6 times expected earnings for the next 12 months. That is half the stock's 10-year average and below the 13 times average for major tech companies.

Even Microsoft's 2.5 per cent dividend yield, which lags only Intel Corp's among big tech, is not enough to persuade investors to change their outlook.

Although some options traders are betting on an upward swing in Microsoft's shares after the results, past experience has shown that even blowout results tend to be priced in before earnings.

This quarter, Microsoft is expected to post sales growth of 12 per cent to $16.2 billion in its fiscal third quarter, and earnings of 56 cents per share, up smartly from 45 cents a year ago, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

That is a respectable gain in a slow-moving economy, but it may not be enough to keep its grip on the technology crown.

Apple, which overtook Microsoft in terms of market value and quarterly sales last year, posted a 95 percent jump in second-quarter net profit to $5.99 billion last week.

Microsoft is expected to report an 18 per cent increase to only $4.7 billion.

Two years ago, Microsoft's quarterly profit was almost double Apple's. The last time Apple produced more profit in a year than Microsoft was 1990.

To add insult to injury, Microsoft's languishing stock means it may be overtaken in market value soon by IBM, the lumbering old foe that Microsoft vanquished in the 1990s.

At the close of business on Wednesday, Apple led the pack with a market value of $324 billion. Microsoft was a distant second at $220 billion, with IBM close behind at $204 billion.

Read More :- http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tech/news/software-services/Microsoft-profit-expected-to-rise/articleshow/8109463.cms

Microsoft's Office 365 Beta Launches Worldwide

Microsoft's Office 365 Beta

Microsoft has launched the public beta of Office 365, a major part of its "all in" strategy for cloud computing. Microsoft's rivals in cloud include Google.

Microsoft has introduced the public beta of its Office 365, the company’s cloud-productivity offering and current best chance for driving back the threat presented by Google Apps and similar platforms. Microsoft has a habit of launching large-scale betas for its products, the better to apparently weed out bugs and other issues ahead of the general release.

The Office 365 beta will be available in 38 markets and 17 languages and joins Microsoft Office, SharePoint Online, Exchange Online and Lync Online. The service’s starting price is $6 per user per month. In addition, Microsoft is launching the Office 365 Marketplace, with more than 100 productivity apps and 400 professional services.

Microsoft originally launched Office 365 in limited beta in October 2010, announcing at the time that general availability would come sometime in 2011. The platform is essentially a rebranding of the company’s BPOS (Business Productivity Online Suite), which bundled products such as SharePoint Online.

The software giant has also expressed interest in selling Office 365 as a customizable platform, allowing companies with simpler needs to access fewer products. For the past several months, Microsoft has been aggressive in pushing an “all-in” cloud strategy, major components of which involve pushing a variety of cloud-based IT services to corporations. The push comes just as Microsoft faces competition not only from Google, which wants to secure large IT contracts with corporations and government entities, but also upstarts such as Salesforce.com, which have taken to attacking many of Microsoft’s current offerings as outdated.

In virtually every public speech, for example, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff extols the enterprise IT future as mobile-centric and constantly updated via the cloud. Despite having made its fortune in desktop-centric software, however, Microsoft also seems to realize the fundamentals underlying the tech industry are undergoing a massive paradigm shift: hence Office 365, Windows Azure and other platforms.

Microsoft is also partnering with Research In Motion to integrate its cloud offerings into BlackBerry devices, with the latter providing cloud-based BlackBerry service in support of Office 365. RIM’s BlackBerry Enterprise servers will connect “cloud to cloud” with Microsoft’s data centers to host Office 365 on users’ Blackberrys.

RIM’s upcoming PlayBook tablet will be able to port and display Office 365 data from any user’s BlackBerry, through the BlackBerry Bridge tethering service.

Meanwhile, Microsoft’s battle with Google over large cloud contracts has grown particularly intense in the past few months, with the search-engine giant even suing the federal government after the Department of the Interior allegedly denied its bid to update an email and messaging system. Microsoft’s BPOS-Federal suite eventually won that contract, estimated at $59 million over a five-year life cycle.

Last October, Microsoft announced a partnership with New York City’s government to provide municipal employees with access to cloud-based Microsoft applications, in what many saw as a sort of response to Google’s agreement with the City of Los Angeles to provide cloud services to its employees.

Read More :- http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Windows/Microsofts-Office-365-Beta-Launches-Worldwide-756933/

Microsoft attacks Google over security

Microsoft Corp. is lashing out at Google Inc., extending hostilities between two of the most prominent corporations in the technology industry.

Microsoft claimed Google has been misleading customers about the security certification of its suite of software programs for governments. Microsoft's deputy general counsel, David Howard, blogged on Monday about a newly unsealed court document that shows that "Google Apps for Government" hasn't been certified under the Federal Information Security Management Act.

Google's website claims it has, and the company has attested to that in court documents.

"It's time for Google to stop telling governments something that is not true," Howard wrote.

The documents are part of a Google lawsuit alleging that it was improperly frozen out of competing for a US Department of Interior contract to build a new e-mail system for 85,000 employees - a contract that Microsoft won. A judge earlier sided with Google's belief that the bidding was rigged to favor Redmond-based Microsoft, and issued a preliminary injunction while the two sides duke it out.

Google insists it's not deceiving anyone, since a less-robust version of the product has already been certified under FISMA.

"We did not mislead the court or our customers," the company said in a statement, noting that "Google Apps" received a FISMA clearance in July 2010, and that "Google Apps for Government" is "the same system with enhanced security controls that go beyond FISMA requirements."

The documents show that Mountain View-based Google is in the process of applying for certification for "Google Apps for Government."

The controversy illustrates the wide range of complaints and tactics that Google and Microsoft are using to attack each other. Their enmity has grown as Microsoft encroaches on Google's search turf and Google goes calling on Microsoft's customers to sell them programs such as email and word processing.

The manoeuvring has ranged from a "gotcha"-type stunt in which Google accused Microsoft in February of copying Google's search results, to Microsoft - long a target of antitrust complaints - filing its first formal antitrust complaint against a rival by arguing to European authorities that Google is abusing its dominance to freeze out rival services.

Read More :- http://ibnlive.in.com/news/microsoft-attacks-google-over-security/149015-11.html