Live From The Summit: Device options, cloud computing open many doors for developers

Ray Ozzie, chief software architect at Microsoft, emphasized the impact of device multiplicity and cloud computing during his question-and-answer segment with Fortune magazine’s David Kirkpatrick at the DLA Piper Global Technology Leaders Summit Tuesday morning.

Devices, he said, will be “appliance-like” in the near future. “You'll buy one, log in, and the data you need will be there.”

This outlook drives Microsoft's development philosophy, he said, because technology needs to become ever-more usable and focus on solving business problems instead of just doing neat things. “Business buys technology if it solves a problem,” he said. “What is the direct path between the software I'm buying and the problem I'm solving?”

Ozzie said that cloud computing has enormous potential to speed up data exchange, software development, collaboration, and ultimately, software usability. “The Internet was created during an era of 56k modems and dial-up connections. As a software [developer] you balance what's on the back end with what's on the front end.” Whether bandwith is large or small is a challenge of perspective and application.

Software developers need to look at the specific applications customers find value in and “re-cast” them to fit the device – desktop computer, smartphone, camera, television – best equipped to allow users to maximize the value that application offers. Focus on where the application resides as much as what it does should be a directives, and a focus on making devices connected is critical today.

Social networks, Ozzie said, have the capabilities to complement organizational dynamics as long as companies use them efficiently and users behave responsibly.

Regarding today's economic climate, Ozzie said that software companies should make short-term, “pragmatic” decisions that won't hurt their long-term business plans. Buyers will remain solutions-focused, he said, and this should reassure technology companies that add real value to users.