X
Tech

The Gates/Ozzie equation: (software + services) (servers = service)

In September 2005, Bill Gates promoted the formula: server = services as part of the Microsoft Live rollout He described the server = services as follows: The architecture we are interested in we call server-equals-service, so that we will have the full Exchange capability that you can subscribe to, where we run it, or you can have it on-premise with the traditional licensing approach.  ...
Written by Dan Farber, Inactive

In September 2005, Bill Gates promoted the formula: server = services as part of the Microsoft Live rollout He described the server = services as follows:

The architecture we are interested in we call server-equals-service, so that we will have the full Exchange capability that you can subscribe to, where we run it, or you can have it on-premise with the traditional licensing approach. 

...our services have started out as very inexpensive but not feature-rich. Our servers are very feature rich. So as we bring these things together, we give you the richness and also the choice of having it as server or as a service. And that is a very big deal to us. The place we are strongest in this today is in instant messenger, where the MSN Messenger is the service, and Live Communications Server is the server. So those things are very symmetrical.

At the same time, the concept of software + service appeared (see below), but took a back seat to server = service. Now Microsoft is emphasizing software + services. Recently, Chief Software Architect Ray Ozzie responded the chorus, led by Salesforce.com's Marc Benioff, that is predicting all software will be delivered as a service over the Web.
software service.jpg
 Bill Gates introduces Microsoft Live in September 2005

The shift toward services is complementary to the rich client model, Ozzie said, speaking to investors and reporters at the annual financial analyst meeting held in Redmond. With software + services, Windows Live is at the core, and it integrates with other services and existing desktop-based business software. It's the hybrid approach in which customers can choose what is hosted in the cloud or on premise, rich or lightweight client. However, most of Microsoft's core business software wasn't build with the Web in mind. The busy Microsoft developers must be cooking up a load of lightweight applications. Ozzie has said that some applications, especially those that require lots of disk access, aren't ideally suited as Web-based services. That may not always be the case, but for now it's accurate. Many Web-based applications are too slow and clunky for everyday use.

So, we have the Gates/Ozzie equation: (software + services) (servers = service). But what does it equal? The basic premise is that servers = service means that servers deliver services to any kind of device.  Software + services means that those services delivered by servers are made of software. Got it? Anyone else want to try to crack the code?

See also: Joe Wilcox comments on Ozzie's remarks...
 

Editorial standards