•
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Time and again, the technology pundits have predicted that the Microsoft era is over. They had reasons of their own – owing to onslaught of Open Source software, anti-trust lawsuits, and the Linux threat. But, it has proved to the contrary. Let alone the fear of Microsoft’s decline, it is nowhere near the beginning of its end. Or is it?
However, with the beginning of the Internet era, the software landscape has dramatically undergone a transformation, jolting Microsoft off its monopolistic position – perhaps, the software bellwether has begun to wither and lose its sheen.
Paradigm Shift
With the industry riding high on the web technology, much of the ’action’ shifted to the server, with desktop becoming leaner and meaner, by the day – a clear paradigm shift. Another dimension to this shift is that a variety of electronic gadgets have gotten smarter; smarter that they run on software. I am not saying that the desktop market is going south. But only that the growth is not as huge as it used to be – there was a time once, when the number of new desktops added was more than what already existed, a triple digit growth. It is not such a hunky-dory picture anymore.
From its early stages, Microsoft has dominated the desktop software category. Irrespective of the number of products it has in its portfolio, the Windows OS and Office Suite are still the cash-cows for Microsoft, raking in almost all the moolah in their respective markets, and covering other loss-making or marginally profitable products. No matter, whatever the support for Internet that is built into these products, they are only superficial, at best; simply because they were not designed for the Internet.
Traditionally, it is so that many companies have tumbled when confronted with a paradigm shift, let alone retain its (dominant) position. Such paradigm shifts are like huge tidal waves that strike the industry, periodically. And, in the aftermath, those who started off riding on this new wave emerged the leader. Similarly, in the new world where Internet and Electronic Gadget rule, companies like Google, Apple are in vogue.
Much of the senior leadership at Microsoft is grey-haired (meaning: they are wise; no disrespect intended). And, they understand and acknowledge the paradigm shift. Consequently, Microsoft has diversified its portfolio; launching competitive products like Microsoft Zune to take on Apple iPod (and iTunes), MSN and Live Search to take on the ubiquitous Google’s search engine.
The paradigm shift has brought with it new business opportunities and hence new revenue streams - Online advertising, running to tens of billions of dollars. Umm… Yummy, can those at Redmond sit idle? Somehow, their technologies have failed to dominate in this new domain. They desperately seek to gain a footing, even if it means to shell out a whopping $47 billion to gobble Yahoo!, and borrow money to do so!
Microsoft leadership claims that they have had such competition before; and that it is only a matter of time that they surge ahead. They have survived the Linux and Open Source scare, threat from Borland (developer tools), Sun (OS and Programming languages like Java) and Netscape (browser), to name a few. But, somehow the paradigm change that the Web has ushered in is different!
Falling Engineering Quality
Face it. Microsoft is getting obese. It is a well-known folklore in the industry that Microsoft religiously practiced hiring the creme de la crème, who in turn hired smart people. Probably, this has been one of its greatest asset and the cornerstone for its success. However, if the insiders are to be believed, Microsoft is putting on weight; and is probably becoming less punitive upon its competition. Another interesting piece of hiring philosophy is to be found here. Had the merger with Yahoo succeeded, it would have become a mammoth of an organization. Perhaps, it would have crossed that threshold where in implosion could not have been ruled out.
Perhaps, as fallout of the cancerous growth in headcount that they are witnessing, it is possible that their hiring culture has got diluted; or it was diluted to make room for the sufficient hands to avert a talent crunch. Consequently, if you go by inside news, the overall engineering quality has taken a beating.
Microsoft 2.0
After about 30 years at the helm of it, Bill Gates slated to retire on June 30. Microsoft is set to reboot itself into the new era of leadership. The baton will be passed on, and the steering will shift hands. However, will the philosophy and values with which the company was founded remain intact, when both the founders are not around?
However, with the beginning of the Internet era, the software landscape has dramatically undergone a transformation, jolting Microsoft off its monopolistic position – perhaps, the software bellwether has begun to wither and lose its sheen.
Paradigm Shift
With the industry riding high on the web technology, much of the ’action’ shifted to the server, with desktop becoming leaner and meaner, by the day – a clear paradigm shift. Another dimension to this shift is that a variety of electronic gadgets have gotten smarter; smarter that they run on software. I am not saying that the desktop market is going south. But only that the growth is not as huge as it used to be – there was a time once, when the number of new desktops added was more than what already existed, a triple digit growth. It is not such a hunky-dory picture anymore.
From its early stages, Microsoft has dominated the desktop software category. Irrespective of the number of products it has in its portfolio, the Windows OS and Office Suite are still the cash-cows for Microsoft, raking in almost all the moolah in their respective markets, and covering other loss-making or marginally profitable products. No matter, whatever the support for Internet that is built into these products, they are only superficial, at best; simply because they were not designed for the Internet.
Traditionally, it is so that many companies have tumbled when confronted with a paradigm shift, let alone retain its (dominant) position. Such paradigm shifts are like huge tidal waves that strike the industry, periodically. And, in the aftermath, those who started off riding on this new wave emerged the leader. Similarly, in the new world where Internet and Electronic Gadget rule, companies like Google, Apple are in vogue.
Much of the senior leadership at Microsoft is grey-haired (meaning: they are wise; no disrespect intended). And, they understand and acknowledge the paradigm shift. Consequently, Microsoft has diversified its portfolio; launching competitive products like Microsoft Zune to take on Apple iPod (and iTunes), MSN and Live Search to take on the ubiquitous Google’s search engine.
The paradigm shift has brought with it new business opportunities and hence new revenue streams - Online advertising, running to tens of billions of dollars. Umm… Yummy, can those at Redmond sit idle? Somehow, their technologies have failed to dominate in this new domain. They desperately seek to gain a footing, even if it means to shell out a whopping $47 billion to gobble Yahoo!, and borrow money to do so!
Microsoft leadership claims that they have had such competition before; and that it is only a matter of time that they surge ahead. They have survived the Linux and Open Source scare, threat from Borland (developer tools), Sun (OS and Programming languages like Java) and Netscape (browser), to name a few. But, somehow the paradigm change that the Web has ushered in is different!
Falling Engineering Quality
Face it. Microsoft is getting obese. It is a well-known folklore in the industry that Microsoft religiously practiced hiring the creme de la crème, who in turn hired smart people. Probably, this has been one of its greatest asset and the cornerstone for its success. However, if the insiders are to be believed, Microsoft is putting on weight; and is probably becoming less punitive upon its competition. Another interesting piece of hiring philosophy is to be found here. Had the merger with Yahoo succeeded, it would have become a mammoth of an organization. Perhaps, it would have crossed that threshold where in implosion could not have been ruled out.
Perhaps, as fallout of the cancerous growth in headcount that they are witnessing, it is possible that their hiring culture has got diluted; or it was diluted to make room for the sufficient hands to avert a talent crunch. Consequently, if you go by inside news, the overall engineering quality has taken a beating.
Microsoft 2.0
After about 30 years at the helm of it, Bill Gates slated to retire on June 30. Microsoft is set to reboot itself into the new era of leadership. The baton will be passed on, and the steering will shift hands. However, will the philosophy and values with which the company was founded remain intact, when both the founders are not around?
0 comments :