Microsoft is gearing up for a major battle with Google for cloud computing supremacy, which will largely be anchored by an implementation of Microsoft Office for the Web.

In a The Future of Cloud Computing with Business Productivity Online Standard Suite webinar presented by Microsoft, details are provided about just how Microsoft intends to turn back the Google applications tide.

Jim Haigh from Microsoft does a good job making a case for Microsoft by highlighting first the economic issues that are getting customers to move to cloud computing in the first place, and then detailing some of the unique benefits of a Microsoft approach that already has a half million paid seats.

Included in that discussion are the benefits of being able to integrate Microsoft Office deployments on existing client systems with Office implementations in the cloud. As part of that effort, he notes that Microsoft’s Office implementation for the cloud will include synchronization services with Active Directory and the ability to integrate with other Microsoft cloud services, including SharePoint, Live Meeting and Office Communications Services.

He also added that security capabilities will be built into the service and customers will be able to convert existing client licenses to the Microsoft cloud offering.

Rating: One of the best explanations of what Microsoft is trying to do in the cloud – TWM1.