Technology is fast-paced and constantly evolving – what appeared to be cutting edge this year will be the everyday norm next year. Microsoft is a key player in technological advances, so what future trends can we expect from this software giant in the coming years?
Subscription is king
We have seen the push towards cloud from the majority of Microsoft software platforms over recent years. For the US market they recently released a monthly subscription service for Xbox called All Access. This offer provides the consumer with not only access to its online games and multiplayer services but also the console is included as part of the subscription. The US also got a Surface subscription offering a few years ago.
We are going to see similar moves to provide subscription models for all their offerings. Windows OS looks to be next.
Open Source & collaborations
Satya Nadella has been the CEO of Microsoft for four years now and we have seen a big shift to the organisation becoming a more open and collaborative business. The first sign of this movement was allowing Microsoft apps onto competitor stores (i.e. Apple and Android) to download.
Image credit – Google Finance. Microsoft share prices since the arrival of CEO Satya Nadella
This year we have seen the purchase of Github, Amazon’s Alexa integrating with Microsoft’s Cortana and at the Ignite event information on how Microsoft, Adobe and SAP are working on a Open Data Initiative.
We will see more collaborative solutions coming from Microsoft due to their open source mentality and closer working with what have previously been perceived as competitors.
Image credit – Microsoft. Shantanu Narayen, CEO, Adobe (left), Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft (centre), and Bill McDermott, CEO of SAP (right)
Dynamics 365
Microsoft has now made their main enterprise solutions available in the cloud including a clear Dynamics 365 cloud proposition. There’s an option currently to deploy Dynamics 365 applications onto on-premise servers but we are already seeing that capability diminishing. The on-premise options may continue but only with a necessary online sync back to the cloud.
Dynamics GP 2018 is getting a fantastic ability to sync with Dynamics 365 & Microsoft cloud applications as part of Microsoft “Intelligent Edge” work. It will give traditionally on-premise companies a bridge to the Microsoft cloud solutions. Eventually giving the indication that they could completely switch to the cloud once they are ready.
All the solutions Microsoft is designing are more configurable for end users than ever before. Dynamics 365 will have more out of the box configuration wizards, enabling organisations to start quicker and reduce barriers for people to adopt the software.
Stronger Partner relationships
Finally, I think we will see stronger links with Partners who have templates for Dynamics 365 which are industry and/or country specific, with Microsoft leveraging specific sector/local expertise and resource to extend its coverage.
Round-up
Microsoft has never been an organisation that rests on its laurels. It will certainly be interesting to see future developments that keep the rest of the industry on its toes. As a Microsoft Gold Partner, we are proud to be able to work with our customers to give them the latest Microsoft products that meet their unique business requirements. Contact our experts to discuss how we can help you to implement an effective Microsoft solution in your business.
