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Cloud Computing - A Cloud Computing Discussion with Microsoft and MetraTech Officials
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Cloud Computing

Cloud Computing

A Cloud Computing Discussion with Microsoft and MetraTech Officials

October 26, 2010

By Erin Monda
TMCnet Contributor

I recently had the pleasure of interviewing both Ganga Venkatasubramanian, product manager of Microsoft online services and Scott Swartz, CEO of MetraTech (News - Alert) Corp. We came together to discuss the cloud computing industry and where it is headed.


Erin: How has Microsoft augmented its business model via cloud computing?

Ganga: The transformation of our business model started with our customers. The result came from their cost concerns, the need to increase productivity and demand for innovation. We knew that we would need to transform to meet our customer’s expectations and to make our cloud services their absolute choice. 

Our unique Software Plus Services business model removes the burden of managing and maintaining business systems and frees IT departments to focus on initiatives that can help deliver true competitive advantage.  

During this transformation, we also took into account our shareholders, we put on a “global lens” to recognize the challenges that our customers anticipated in the market and how they would soon operate with the new Software Plus Services system. Key to our business model is the pricing and licensing strategy we undertook. We also considered a Go-To Market strategy in the way our channel partners would operate and their new roles. 

Erin: What benefits did incorporating cloud services have on your company's billing structure?

Ganga: Our strategy is to choose the right platform for the right task. For example, Microsoft (News - Alert) and MetraTech formed a critical relationship on the key area of the billing and monetization structure. An important benefit is the relationship between our advisors and channel partners- which are multiple and they all need to be compensated differently across a broad range of services. We can accommodate that easily with a MetraTech tool called ICB- Individual Case Basis, where we can fine tune or create a custom financial arrangement with those partners. 

We have also been able to create a positive commerce experience for our customers so that when they receive the bill, things such as descriptions and usage are very understandable.

Scott: There is great demand by customers for positive billing experiences. According to Accenture (News - Alert) Research, 82% place importance on bills that are easy to understand. Knowing this, Microsoft set out and gained the ability to audit, track and calculate all of the financial relationships. They are now able to optimize processes and technology to scale for millions of customers coupled with the ability to track, monitor, report and monetize usage. Microsoft is now able to offer customers choice and agility to respond to new business models and market changes. 

Erin: Was your particular SaaS (News - Alert) model chosen with systems and vendors in mind?

Ganga: When we undertook this aggressive transformation, we decided upon leveraging a third party technology partner in the key area of the Monetization Engine. We had considered three leading billing providers and it took us three months to decide on partnering with MetraTech and they were chosen after we had finalized our strategy.

MetraTech was chosen for a few reasons: MetraTech’s architecture was aligned with Microsoft’s then-current architecture - we knew it would be sustainable and that the plans would align well; and its system was comparable. MetraTech’s team has worked with the Microsoft engineering team during the exploration phase and we found a good fit between the teams

Scott: Knowing that Microsoft had an ambitious timeline, we were challenged to meet their goals. MetraTech’s unique ability to dynamically model business processes and financial models resulted in a rapid twenty-week implementation – which was one-third of the expected time. We are extremely proud to be an important contributor to their successful launch and that we delivered on their aggressive delivery schedule.

Erin: Have you found cloud dynamics flexible in regards to daily operations?

Ganga: Microsoft is still evolving and the cloud helps us scale better. But you have to consider that Microsoft has to bring along existing processes and move them to the cloud. The transformation is not as quick as we had hoped, but it is hard to believe we have covered so much distance in a couple of years. It is a work in progress.


Erin Monda recently graduated from W.C.S.U. with a degree in professional writing. She primarily writes about network technologies, including cloud computing, virtualization and network optimization, however she also has a focus on E911 technologies and legislation.

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