By acting as a middleman, Microsoft is building a new audience for key server applications and gaining experience that could prove valuable in the nascent market for utility computing. A growing number of Microsoft server applications--most notably its Exchange e-mail server--are being resold as hosted services by third-party vendors that target small-business users. Analysts and partners give credit to Microsoft for making its products more host-friendly and say the software giant has shown no interest in providing such services on its own.
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