Microsoft is of course mainly a software company, and *services* have never previously been a crucial part of its business.
A hosting company--probably even an old-line telco--would have understood the importance of backup in this situation.
It does not speak well for the astuteness of Microsoft senior management that despite the fact they have a strategic emphasis on cloud computing, they failed to understand the importance of avoiding this kind of failure.
Commenting by HaloScan
