[throw_14JAS]

It'x a brilliant piece of marketing from MS, if you think about it. Many decision makers, even in spaces with HIPAA data, have no real idea what it entails. They are frightened of screwing it up.

What Microsoft sells is a "good enough" solution that speaks the right language for the decision makers. In turn, this makes their decision less risky while still satisficing the requirements.

[commandar]

Exactly. From the perspective of high level decision makers, PaaS is heading toward being a commodity good, so differentiating your platform can be what makes a deal and making regulatory compliance "easy" in heavily regulated industries can be a pretty strong differentiator.

If you have an existing business relationship with a company and already trust them to help you navigate regulatory hoops, there's going to be strong inclination to continue to trust them as you expand your infrastructure to the cloud.

Like you said, it's the kind of very smart, long-term marketing I tend to associate with "New"/Nadella Microsoft.

[ta999999171]

Like the new "Windows Terminal" project - EXCELLENT marketing strategies in recent years.

I still don't trust them, but credit where credit is due.