Microsoft's 2009 To-do List

It has been a year of transition for Microsoft. Microsoft introduced its cloud operating system Azure, and released online versions of Exchange and SharePoint, two of its most popular infrastructure servers. In addition, the company revealed it was developing for the first time Web-based online versions of popular Office applications. It's all a setup for what will define Microsoft's 2009.

Pay attention to that man behind the curtain

Ray Ozzie had a winner's grin in October when he introduced Azure, Microsoft's cloud operating system two years in the making. Now, he must define the platform, fill in its gaps, and convince developers they should get behind it and push. Then he has to finish painting Microsoft's story around software-plus-services. It is no less than a generational shift for Microsoft, and 2009 should set the tone for Ozzie's legacy.

Get virtualized

For years critics said comparing the virtualization tools from VMware and Microsoft was like comparing LeBron James to that tall kid down the block who plays basketball in his driveway. Microsoft has jettisoned James from its TV advertising campaign, but VMware is still around and still the ever-present all-star. With Microsoft's Hyper-V now firmly on IT's radar as part of Windows Server 2008, and with the recession now official and reinforcing virtualization's cost-saving benefits, Microsoft will deploy a full-court press in order to make its case that Hyper-V was worth the wait. 

Bury Vista, roll a lucky 7

Microsoft will spend less time trying to convince people that Vista is a good operating system with a bum rap and more time moving on to the slick UI enhancements and IT benefits of Windows 7. Steven Sinofsky will deliver the first feature-complete beta version of Windows 7 in early 2009, and then the chatter will reach a fever pitch as to its merits and whether Sinofsky can deliver it in time for the holiday buying season.

Storm in Googleplex

With Microsoft moving quickly into the service realm and with Google eyeing the enterprise, this battle will be as hot as ever in 2009. The most active battlefield is likely to be around productivity applications with Web-based versions of Office applications slated from Microsoft and Google trying desperately to put IT features into its Apps platform.

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