Microsoft is in for a challenging year and needs to deliver the goods in many key markets. But what's the most important product in Microsoft's portfolio for 2012? Cast a vote in our poll to share your opinion. Microsoft has money, that’s for damn sure. But does it have vision? And is CEO Steve Ballmer the right leader for Microsoft in these changing times? In 2012, revenue will pour into Redmond via Office and Windows software licenses, but Microsoft can’t afford to take its eyes off the cloud and mobile markets. The Office 365 suite, which allows companies to offload Exchange, Lync and Sharepoint management to a Microsoft cloud service, has been adopted mostly by SMBs. But the big fish are at the enterprise level, and Microsoft will need to be ready for enterprise cloud needs in 2012 and stave off cloud competitors like Google Apps. Microsoft in 2012: All Eyes on Windows 8 Is Microsoft Too Big to Fail? Windows Phones are suffering from low sales and market share. How much longer can Microsoft be a non-player in mobile? A partnership with Nokia will bring more phones to the U.S. in early 2012, and may provide a turning point. Search engine Bing has been slowly (very slowly) gaining on Google. Bing has not been a money-maker at all, but Microsoft is committed to keeping search king Google on its toes. And then there’s Windows 8. The weight of the world will be on Windows 8 as Microsoft makes its late arrival to the tablet market in the fall of 2012. Based on Microsoft demos, Windows 8 has a completely new Metro tile-based user interface, and is designed from scratch to work on PCs and tablets. But will a Windows 8 tablet get overshadowed by the established and popular iPad and Android tablets? What do you think? Where does Microsoft need to hit a home run the most next year? Cast a vote in the poll below to share your opinion. (You can pick three)<a href=”http://polldaddy.com/poll/5785711/”>Which area does Microsoft need to succeed in the most in 2012?</a> Related content Opinion Last Words Before Closing Eye on Microsoft By Shane O'Neill Jun 05, 2013 3 mins Small and Medium Business Tablets Windows Opinion With Rumored Reorg, Microsoft Tries to Simplify The mounting pressure on Steve Ballmer to streamline Microsoft is finally leading to some action. By Shane O'Neill Jun 03, 2013 3 mins IT Strategy Cloud Computing Computers and Peripherals Opinion What You Need to Know About the New Lync and Skype Integration Audio calls and instant messaging are officially integrated between Lync and Skype, but no video connectivity yet. Here are some key points for users and IT admins about the new Lync-Skype connection. By Shane O'Neill May 29, 2013 3 mins Small and Medium Business Internet VoIP Opinion Microsoft Should Leave the Competition Out of Ads Microsoft is in no position to disparage Google and Apple in TV ads, yet it keeps doing it. A new ad for Microsoft Surface turns inward and gets it right. By Shane O'Neill May 23, 2013 2 mins Small and Medium Business Tablets Internet Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe