Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) has quickly become a big proponent of cloud computing, as pressures mount from Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) and other sellers of web-based applications. The Redmond, Wash., software giant is working hard to bring its vast network of partners into the cloud with it.  In an interview with Cecilia Kang at The Washington Post, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer elaborates on where he sees cloud-based offerings headed.

Despite continued tight budgets in enterprise IT shops, the move toward web-based software is an important opportunity that most of Microsoft's partners are embracing, Ballmer said. "The inevitability of the cloud is absolutely clear," he said. "When and how is not 100 percent clear.

While Google offers productivity tools over the Web for free, those apps don't come with the security and compliance features that many customers want, Ballmer said. Calling Google's offerings "incomplete," Ballmer said that Microsoft's cloud-based offerings are doing "very, very well" with its large customers.

Ballmer also discussed his company's lagging position in the smartphone market and how he intends to close the gap: "In the case of phones...we missed. We just didn't execute well. Now we are jamming hard. We'll sell millions of units this year, but we're not where we want to be. But with Windows Phone 7, we are back in it."

For more:
- see Cecilia Kang's article at The Washington Post

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