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Microsoft’s Ex-CEO Ballmer chooses Amazon AWS?

That’s right, you might now have read it.  In 2014 Steve states “Amazon isn’t a real business” and in 2017 he states he’s “Admiring Amazon” while in 2019 he chooses Amazon for a Clippers Real-Time engine for video and other AI tech.

Many are going to over complicate this but here is my take:

Mr. Ballmer is one of the most brilliant minds in technology
Mr. Ballmer’s opinion has evolved in 5 years just as Amazon has
Microsoft has changed its own opportunity and power, which Ballmer obviously sees in more depth than we are able
The focus for Microsoft Cloud has shifted and probably doesn’t compete with billion dollar purchases like Amazon is ready for
Microsoft Cloud works well for small and medium business
Amazon Web is arguably leaps ahead of others for Cloud Enterprise but that doesn’t mean Microsoft lost

Those that know me know one thing for sure, I’m a Microsoft supporter.  I’ve been in and led our organizations down the Microsoft Partner program since the very day of it’s inception.  I’ve even participated in some of the most prestigious Partner Engagement Boards, PAC and other board groups that help Microsoft Execs decide the path they take with our customers.  I’ve announced Lenny Kranitz on stage for Microsoft, Shaken hands with the likes of the “Champ” Sugar Ray Leonard and walked in the lines with Pitbull and even sat in meetings with people in the top brass at Microsoft.  We’ve been blessed as Microsoft’s Partner of the Year multiple times, Gold Partner and even shared the limelight on the front pages of CIO Review, Wall Street Journal and Microsoft’s own internal newsletters.  So I think it’s safe to say we’re aligned.

Here’s the deal: Microsoft is in an evolution phase and even I have some “beefs” with the current management team.
1. Microsoft fired 9,000 colleagues in the past 2 years, many of them were friends and most went to competitors like Google and Amazon or came into the Partner Network as happened for us
2. Microsoft has created what is now referred to as the “Puntner” program as opposed to the “Partner” program whereby they have hand selected successful partners and punted them into the market with zero support while focusing on new growth for new partners with next to no business. This can be viewed as a problem by many but realistically those partners just need to focus on their own business, as we are.
3. Microsoft has the absolute, hands-down, best product for business available in the cloud today and it won’t be lost when ALSO embracing the Amazon Cloud. There are cases where this solution is absolutely stunning.
4. Microsoft is showing signs of direct competition with its own partners so why not bring Amazon into the game as well.  It just makes good business sense.

All of this is going to “shake” out in the next many months and what Ballmer did is hedge his bets on stability, consistency and a few things I think he might know better than any of us.

While some of the portions of the Clippers new tech will reside in Amazon I’m quite sure they’ll be run on properly licensed Windows Servers generating Microsoft a ton of money and a ton of comfort. The game isn’t over and in fact each day, month, year we look at the cloud it is morphing faster than any of us had expected.

So, with all that said.  Keep your investments in Microsoft, your Partner and your own business and when all this shakes out you’ll be the one able to say that you stayed the course and won.  Mark my words on this one.

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