Microsoft, Give Thanks!
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Even the folks at Microsoft--except lawyers working the EU case--get off for Thanksgiving. What does the company have to be thankful for this year? |
I have picked 10 things, in reverse order, for which Microsoft should give thanks.
10. Windows Genuine Advantage. Some customers may gripe about the anti-piracy program, and it has taken the bad brunt of blogs and news stories. But WGA has delivered Microsoft loads of valuable data on piracy around the world (those invalidations really ring up in some places). Microsoft now knows where are the bodies buried concentrated areas of piracy. The tactical data is probably WGA's greatest value. Microsoft, if you haven't already, start matching piracy information against geographic criminal hacker data. You might reveal the location of the next pump-and-dump spammer.
9. Web 2.0. Microsoft does its best work when competition is greatest. Increased developer interest in the "Web Platform" spurred Windows Live and Microsoft's shift towards more hybrid desktop/Web products and services. Web 2.0 troop leader Google is catalyst for Microsoft's approach to search and online advertising. Microsoft is now positioned to capture the massive advertising analysts expect will move online from television and print media. Google competition made this transform happen--and good thing. Office and Windows can't fund Microsoft forever.
8. Zune. Sure, the reviews are mixed, but finally Steve Ballmer and J Allard can get all those pesky iPods off the Microsoft campus. How about putting a Zune in every Microsoft employee Christmas stocking, guys? Even if only five people buy a Zune, the product already is a huge success. Now every iPod story mentions Zune. The buzz and marketing mean that where once was iPod alone there is Zune, too. I may buy one, if only for the novelty, whenever the Zune Marketplace is Windows Vista compatible.
7. HTC. Pocket PC was a non-starter against Palm, until Compaq got the hardware right with iPAQ. HTC's Typhoon has done for Windows Mobile smartphones what iPAQ did for PDAs. Oh, right, HTC created iPAQ for Compaq. That's double the thanks!
Successors to HTC's Typhoon are smart and capable devices. Samsung deserves some thanks, too. The Samsung i607--or "Blackjack" as sold by Cingular--smartphone delivers on the promise of the Motorola Q. I bought the 3G-capable, Windows Mobile 5-powered Blackjack last week. It's sweet.
6. Internet Explorer team. Microsoft's troupe responsible for IE 7 has done remarkable work. Sure, more work is needed, but the progress is astounding considering the starting place--Internet Explorer 6. Dean Hachamovitch and his team changed the IE rule book, by chucking out many bad practices adopted during the browsers, adopting accepted or open standards and making security a top priority. There's even friendly banter with the folks at Mozilla. Now, that's something you wouldn't have seen with Netscape a decade ago. The IE team has revived the relevance of Microsoft's browser, just as more people do more activities on the Web.
5. Xbox 360. Sony was late, and some reviewers claim Playstation 3 doesn't rate. Meanwhile, Xbox 360 sales roar, with fairly high game attachment as well. Xbox Live is a hit, and today Microsoft added TV and movie downloads to the mix. Xbox 360 is looking a lot more than a game console. Microsoft, you should be thankful for all the IT managers that are also heavy gamers and that own an Xbox 360. The console may drag on profits, but the investment is a huge future payoff.
4. RTMs. In 2006, Microsoft released some important software to manufacturing, some of which hasn't yet shipped. Top of list, of course, are Office 2007 and Windows Vista. If nothing else, it must be a relief to get those two products out of development. Other notable RTMs include BizTalk Server 2006.
3. Partners. PC manufacturers, retailers and commercial software and hardware developers will take a bullet (or clip full) for Microsoft, starting November 24. Black Friday should be a day of rejoicing sales of shiny, new Windows Vista PCs and supporting software and peripherals. Instead, wounded partners must hobble along until January 30 when Windows Vista officially ships. Microsoft, how did you miss Christmas?
Some people would argue that partners stick with Microsoft because of the Windows monopoly, because they have little other choice. Maybe, but either way they've taken a really bad situation really well. Microsoft, are you showing partners appreciation, a little love?
2. Ray Ozzie. The creator of Lotus Notes and Groove is Bill Gates' successor as Chief Software Architect. Ozzie is a tough outsider with a tough task, starting with winning over CEO Steve Ballmer and his three handpicked divisional presidents. Ozzie is a visionary and quite possibly the man that can help maintain the significance of Microsoft software, even as more and more computing relevance shifts to the Web. If Ozzie isn't the man, Microsoft's fate will be the same as IBM, which mainframe relevance diminished before the personal computer.
1. Employee bloggers. It was the best of decisions, it was the worst of decisions, to encourage Microsoft employees to blog. As a journalist, I detest how Microsoft bypasses the impartial media to disseminate information through bloggers on the company's terms. Grumble. Grumble.
The bloggers effectively communicate Microsoft's message and, more importantly, they reach customers. In the process, they put a friendly face on the big company. There are good reasons why magazines put pictures of people on covers: people connect with people. Duh. A blogger is a lot easier to identify with than a press release. I'm also convinced that blogging gets key product managers thinking more about marketing earlier in the product development process. That's a really good thing.
Microsoft, you should give humble thanks for your 3,000-plus employee bloggers--and better reward them, too. Their value is incalculable to you.
Comments (21)
For all these things we give thanks, Amen...
Posted by v-robeh | November 22, 2006 9:05 PM
No, no, no - Joe you have missed the biggest and most important group that Microsoft has to be thankful for - the compliant press that continue to render kid glove treatment to Redmond. One does not have to look far for the 'make nice nice' for super-bloated Vista, still-incompetent and non-standard IE, and turning on their developers, developers, developers when they no longer serve the Greater Microsoft Purpose like the BI desktop and Security firms this time.
Lets see ==> what did you have to say on the IE Team - congratulating them for still stiffing the public rubes on CSS/JavaScript/DOM standards while maintaining proprietary extensions in all the same?
Posted by Jacques Surveyer | November 23, 2006 6:11 PM
There is one more thing for Microsoft to be thankful for, Steve 'Barmy' Ballmer has not defected to Red Hat - yet !!
Posted by PJ Blue | November 24, 2006 7:22 AM
How about the I.T. staff who continue to follow M.S. marketing material as if it were a strategic plan? Be thankful for them too.
Posted by cfJeff | November 26, 2006 2:06 PM
Microsoft bypasses the "impartial media"? From Paul Thurrott to Greenpeace, impartially is not a way Microsoft EVER gets treated. They are always depicted in the media as a corporate behemoth who's motto is "Be evil", OR as a poor misunderstood kid who has never been given a chance to save Christmas. The media has never treated them impartially. They're like Paris Hilton, everyone's got an opinion, and if they say they don't, it's because they're trying to convince you of their opinion!
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