Top 9 Cloud Computing Stories of 2009 – (#4) Microsoft and IBM Jump to Cloud Computing – Finally! - December 23, 2009 at 9:00 am

If ever there was a ringing endorsement for the cloud computing model, it’s when the two 800-lb gorillas of computing join the game. What was considered a joke to most just 10 years ago became a very serious battle for cloud supremacy when Microsoft and IBM announced their entrance.

Microsoft is well known in business circles for its Office and server applications, but hasn’t done much in cloud computing. After a few secretive years of development under the code name Red Dog, Microsoft pulled the covers off of the finished product, “Windows Azure.” 

Much of the same can be said of IBM. Big Blue has been historically known for providing mainframes, servers, and data centers for large enterprises to run their businesses on, but didn’t have much in the way of a platform as a service. That’s now changed with IBM’s large push into cloud computing.