By Tim Ferguson, 7 July 2008 12:06
NEWS
3. Secure new revenue by buying big:
The $44.6bn bid that Microsoft tabled for Yahoo! back in February was a big shift for the company which traditionally has shied away from massive acquisitions preferring more organic growth and smaller piecemeal acquisitions.
This indicates Microsoft is really keen to build a better position in the online advertising market. Currently Google has a massive lead in this area.
Bill Gates caught on camera
Check out 30 years of tech's most famous name here
Plus don't miss out on Gates getting creamedÂ…
Significantly the bid seems to have been led by Steve Ballmer rather than Gates. And while Yahoo! rejected the bid and all seems to have gone quiet on that front, the size and audacious nature of the bid shows Microsoft was deadly serious.
So don't discount another big acquisition bid - it seems Microsoft is very keen to get its mitts on one of the prime online advertising companies, so sooner or later something will have to give.
4. Taking the web seriously through interoperability:
This includes moves such as Microsoft announcing in May that it will implement the Open Document Format "sometime next year" meaning documents can be processed and worked on different platforms. This shows the company is obviously thinking about how it can improve interoperability.
And the work on Live Mesh shows Microsoft is seriously thinking about the internet by allowing synchronised access to data whatever device you're using, meaning you're not tied to a single desktop computer - the kind of cloud computing play that many of its rivals
These moves show Microsoft is adjusting to a world where its products aren't always the default option. For this to work, obviously the platform needs to be as open as possible, especially if it plans to compete on the same level as Google.
5. More Microsoft than Gates:
Gates was the face of Microsoft for so many years and for many synonymous with the company. Execs such as Ballmer, although well known in the industry, are unlikely to have the global visibility Gates had. In addition, it's likely more people will be part of the strategic decision-making process.
The corporate behemoth may well become faceless with Microsoft's activities less attributed to the influence of an individual and more to the corporation itself. Gates was the one that made Microsoft into the world's most famous tech company due to his technical and business brilliance.
Without Gates Microsoft runs the risk of becoming a faceless super-corporation focusing on sales rather than developing the tech that could give the company an edge.
Comments
There are 3 comments. Join the discussion
1. W. Anderson
The "interoperability" play has nothing what-so-ever to do with the company's or Bill Gates' or Steve Ballmer's wish to "better interoperate" with others.
2. Wesley Parish
In relation ot Free and Open Source software, Microsoft has already made some very tentative steps towards recognizing that MS Windows is more a platform than a product. They've released WinCE 6 under a highly ambiguous "Shared Source" license, that doesn't offer nearly enough to system builders; and they've released a version of the NT kernel under one of their Academic "Shared Source" licenses, that again, doesn't offer nearly as much as the competing offerings such as Linux, Minix, the *BSD family, OpenSolaris or other related offerings such as Syllable, HaikuOS, ReactOS, or such, license terms.
All that is needed is to adopt realistic license terms for those products, and accept that it is a viable way to develop a platform.
The real fun's going to come when they realize that the same thing applies to their decision to make MS Office a platform instead of leaving it as a product. That's where the real test of their mettle is going to be.
3. Simon Allen
Microsoft will hardly change at all.
An organisation built over three decades will not change to any significant degree and anything about Open Source will just be window dressing.
This is not just because it is M'soft but ALL and ANY corporation of that size and success - does not change just because the founder is out of the door.
Look at other big companies and ask how they have changed? For the most part they don't, or the change is small and slow.
Space does not permit an exposition of why companies do not change but the essence is: Once a house has been built - you can add an extension and a loft conversion - but it it is still the same house. Humans don't change that easily.
Lastly, I see that most of the press covering Gates' move STILL refer to him as a 'geek' or 'nerd'. He was never that but was simply the finest salesman you will see in your lifetime. I mean that as a compliment, he knew exactly what the world would buy and how much they would pay for it.