????微軟公司（Microsoft）正準備在中國市場上卷土重來。盡管要在這個市場上掙錢一直讓人煞費苦心,，但這家全球最大的軟件巨頭還是希望憑借在云計算和移動設備上的兩大技術突破,，再分一杯羹。不過這次要想再掙上一筆可能就沒那么容易了,。

????微軟將于6月在中國正式推出云平臺Windows Azure,，這是它與世紀互聯(lián)公司（21ViaNet）合作的結晶。按照雙方協(xié)議,，世紀互聯(lián)將從客戶身上賺取收益,，再按一定比例分給微軟。由于中國嚴格限制外國公司提供“增值電信”服務，導致多數(shù)外企只得與本地公司建立合作關系,。

????上周,，微軟首席執(zhí)行官斯蒂夫?鮑爾默稱，為了推出這個平臺和智能手機,，微軟將在中國新招上千名員工,。目前微軟在中國的員工總數(shù)約為四千人。

????中國一直是微軟的盜版重災區(qū),，很多人都在使用微軟的產(chǎn)品,，但很少有人掏錢。

????微軟創(chuàng)始人比爾?蓋茨曾經(jīng)發(fā)表過一個有名的高見：寧可看到中國用戶偷用他的產(chǎn)品,，也不愿讓其他人染指,，結果中國用戶真的欣然照辦。2011年鮑爾默曾抱怨稱,，微軟在中國的收入甚至還不及荷蘭——不過自從微軟開始向中興通訊（ZTE）這類智能手機廠商征收專利費后,，這種局面就有所改觀了。據(jù)商業(yè)軟件聯(lián)盟（Business Software Alliance）稱,，按價格估算,，2011年有77%的軟件遭到盜版，而據(jù)估計,，非法軟件市場的市值高達90億美元,。

????云和移動服務可能會是破解這個難題的良藥。Windows Azure是企業(yè)的云計算平臺,，將于六月正式推出,。云可讓企業(yè)和開發(fā)者在第三方服務器、而不是本地PC上存儲數(shù)據(jù)和軟件,，由此盜版將不再像現(xiàn)在這樣嚴重,。而在移動領域，手機廠商將預裝操作系統(tǒng),，將強化對使用對象及使用內(nèi)容的控制。

????不過微軟仍面臨激烈競爭,。已擁有中國電子商務市場80%份額的阿里巴巴公司（Alibaba）極有希望推出自己的云計算服務,。盡管據(jù)弗雷斯特研究公司（Forrester）稱，到2020年,，“公有云”服務的收入將達到38億美元,，但這個數(shù)字卻還不到商業(yè)軟件聯(lián)盟所預估的中國盜版軟件市場總值的一半。而在移動領域,，谷歌公司（Google）的Android操作系統(tǒng)早已占據(jù)主導地位,。

????微軟也許能躲過盜版這個陷阱，但卻未必能擺脫政治上的麻煩。外企是不允許自行提供“增值電信”服務的,，所以微軟必須與一家本地企業(yè)分享云服務收入,。由于云計算在中國政府的“十二五”計劃中占有重要位置，因此這個市場很可能會靠照顧本國企業(yè)發(fā)展起來,。因此,，微軟想把中國市場變成重要收入來源的希望顯得很渺茫。（財富中文網(wǎng)）

????譯者：清遠

????Microsoft is staging a comeback in China. The world's biggest software maker hopes to use the twin technological disruptions of cloud computing and mobile devices to get a second bite of a market where profit has proved elusive. Yet the financial benefits may be no easier to grasp the second time round.

????Microsoft is due to launch Windows Azure, its cloud computing platform, in China in June, in partnership with local company 21ViaNet. Under the agreement, 21ViaNet would collect client revenues and pass a percentage on to Microsoft. China restricts foreign companies' ability to offer "value added telecoms" services, leading most to partner with local players.

????The software giant plans to hire thousands of new employees in China for the launch and for the roll-out of smartphones, chief executive Steve Ballmer said last week. Microsoft currently has a workforce in the country of around 4,000.

????China has been a piracy trap for Microsoft: many use its products, but few pay.

????Founder Bill Gates famously argued that he would rather see Chinese users steal his products than someone else's, and they took him at his word. In 2011 Ballmer complained that Microsoft (MSFT) generates less revenue in China than in the Netherlands -- though that will have changed since Microsoft started charging smartphone makers like ZTE patent fees. According to the Business Software Alliance, 77% of software by value was pirated in 2011, based on an estimated illegal software market worth $9 billion.

????Cloud and mobile services may provide an antidote. Windows Azure, the company's cloud computing platform, is set to launch in June, and the hope is that piracy will be less of a problem in the cloud, where companies and developers store data and software on third-party servers rather than local PCs. In mobile, operating systems tend to be pre-installed by handset manufacturers, which creates tighter control over who's using what.

????Yet competition is fierce. Alibaba, which already handles over 80% of online commerce, has high hopes for its own cloud computing service. While revenues from "public cloud" services are set to grow to $3.8 billion by 2020, according to Forrester, that's still less than half the Business Software Alliance's estimate of the Chinese market for illegal software. As for mobile, the industry is dominated by versions of Google's Android operating system.

????Microsoft may also escape the piracy trap only to fall into a political one. Foreigners aren't allowed to offer "value-added telecoms" by themselves, so Microsoft must share its cloud revenue with a local partner. Since cloud computing features in the Chinese government's current five-year plan, the market is likely to develop in ways that favour local players. That makes Microsoft's chances of turning China into a big source of revenue look pretty nebulous.