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Any of you who have been in the IT industry more than a few minutes can likely remember a time when it seemed like Microsoft ruled the world. Sure there were alternatives and people did use them, but those were the rebels and renegades. You had to be an expert to use anything other than Windows.
Microsoft made the computer accessible to just about anybody who needed to use one. I am not sure I can pinpoint the exact moment where that seemed to change, but maybe it happened so gradually that it came in under our radar?
Sure, lots of people and businesses still use Microsoft products. I’m not suggesting that they aren’t still out there. I’m just doing a little more than suggesting that they are entirely less relevant. They have become a part of the ‘we will’ crowd, promising that something exciting (in the form of an updated Windows 8 operating system) is coming, coming, coming, coming, coming… well you get the point.
Forrester Research conducted a survey recently that shows Microsoft missed their window. While there was a time when people were looking forward to Windows-based mobile devices it now seems like they just don’t care.
It’s really too bad. Microsoft had a strong-hold on the corporate market for so long with their main mobile competition coming from RIM, and with that looking a little less competitive it would have been an excellent opportunity for total domination. People hated to love Microsoft and even when they messed up, people still seemed to trust them.
It’s not just about the operating system either. Microsoft was so excited to tell us that the advantages of Windows 8 included the ability to run the same app across all of your computer systems and mobile devices. Well big deal. Both the Android Marketplace and Apple App Store are loaded sky-high with apps that basically do the same thing in one way or another at a fraction of the cost by comparison.
I guess there is a chance that it’s not too late. Microsoft still has the means to bank-roll the kind of R&D and launch enthusiasm that might be able to make up for their tardiness. Not to mention how quickly the winds can change in the tech industry. Being honest, I’m just not convinced Steve Ballmer has it in him. If you ask me (and I am certain that the CEO of Microsoft with a 30+ year executive career and a nearly US $14 billion dollar net worth is interested in my opinion) the trick is to focus on the corporate market. Business doesn’t support open source (overwhelmingly) so Android won’t be much competition and a conversion to Apple’s MacOS may still be intimidating enough that Windows still has faint-hope. If they hurry.
[via Time Techland]