While there is apparently little doubt that Microsoft Live is lacking in specific areas, could the suggestions below be all that is really needed to turn this thing around?

To successfully compete with Web 2.0 rivals, Microsoft (Profile, Products, Articles) Corp. must develop an ecosystem of partners that uses its Web-based Windows Live services to develop and market new applications, according to a new report by Summit Strategies Inc.

The report, published earlier this month and written by Summit President and Chief Research Officer Tom Kucharvy, posits that Microsoft must turn Windows Live into a Web-based platform that allows third parties to develop, build and sell applications, much like it did with the Windows operating system on the desktop.
“The key for Microsoft is one, to have a platform, and two, be able to use that environment to create demand for third-party applications written to that platform,” Kucharvy said in an interview Wednesday. “The goal has to be to create the same type of APIs around [Windows Live] as Microsoft has around its Windows platform, so that developers can develop and deliver applications on it, and use it as a foundation for a marketing platform.” [Read the rest]