But the comparison is not standalone - it's against their competition. i believe I read somewhere that Apple generates more in annual revenues from the iPhone - a single product that didn't exist 6 years ago - than MSFT does in total in all the different things they do. Google, a company that didn't even exist 15 years ago, is closing in on them in revenues. Tech is a huge growth space, so you have to look at their growth in that perspective. These are the companies Microsoft is competing against - Google in search, email, phones, maps, tablets, etc. Apple in music, tablets, phones, computers, etc. And Microsoft routinely gets trounced by them. Ballmer's not a disaster of CEO as in someone who runs his company to the ground - he's just basically mediocrity at its finest. WP8 is a great example of a mismanaged product. They missed the market when Apple started it - understandably as did everyone else, but it was a huge mistake. But at that point, they and Google were on even footing. They then got routed a second time by Google. They finally came out with a good product several years after everyone else, but in a market that was already saturated and in a space with limited opportunities for competitors due to the nature of programming app. And thus, their fairly good product is sort of a laughing stock. Basically, he's done a good job on the business/enterprise side by selling Windows and Office and server stuff. He's sucked at everything else - except the earlier mentioned gaming, which has been a big success but was also mismanaged in so many ways (they wanted to take the XBox far beyond gaming to be the centerpiece for entertainment of the living room but have done a terrible job with that). In the end, it results in overall mediocrity.
Microsoft has a reliable revenue stream in the business market. But they are falling way behind in the consumer market. People care far less about desktops (Windows) which they dominate, and the focus is on tablets and phones. And MS is relatively doing poorly there (Surface/WP). Apple and Google have zoomed by in market share. Interestingly I don't think Google makes much money off of Android from what I recall in a recent article. FWIW I thought Surface was a decent attempt at the inevitable consolidation of desktop and tablet (IMHO). But far from mature enough to say 'this is the answer.' I'm very interested to see who cracks the code.
Harrisment, have you heard of this? A report by BizJournals claims that ValueAct, a $2 billion Microsoft investor with a 1% stake in the company, is seeking to achieve some major changes at Microsoft. Analyst Rick Sherlund claims that big changes are going to take place very soon as other shareholders support the decision to get rid of Steve Ballmer in addition to the investment group ValueAct. According to the report ValueAct are seeking to replace Steve Ballmer because his strategy “inspires little confidence”. Apparently Microsoft has no choice but to give ValueAct a board seat otherwise they might launch a “public war” on Steve Ballmer and Microsoft that could end with serious turmoil at the company. “A decision by the board at Microsoft to offer a nomination for a board seat could keep the activist agenda behind closed doors and take longer for shareholders to see potential benefits” Furthermore it is believed they might target the Xbox division and try and get rid of it altogether. This would allow Microsoft to focus on other products and mainly Windows. “Xbox is cool, but by our estimates Microsoft has not made money at this” http://www.eteknix.com/microsoft-investor-wants-to-fire-ballmer-and-sell-xbox-division/
I am not a big fan of office 360. It's a beast on my desktop computer which has about 3000 worth of hardware in it. I like windows 8 because it is a step forward in desktop computing, and it will be even better when sp1 hits in a few more days. I also think that desktop computers still can be very relevant when you consider that streaming tv and music are really just scratching the surface of what you can do. A desktop computer as your media hub will get more and more viable, IMO.
Hopefully he can take Windows 8 out the door with him. Life long windows user and next laptop will be a Mac due to how much i dislike Windows 8
A desktop computer as your media hub was the rage 5-10 years ago. The Xbox was supposed to be the gateway for Microsoft into the family room - movies, gaming, audio, etc. I'd rather deal with a small box anybody could pilot than a desktop pc sitting in the family/living room.
I'm thinking more along the lines of TOTAL integration with your tv, audio system (rather than flip channels, you use google to find stations). The reality is that many devices still don't work THAT well with the desktop computer. Microsoft would do well if they took a page out of their own book and promoted a plug n play marketing scheme with other devices. Microsoft needs to start making sure that windows is compatible with ANY device, point blank. I don't care how good an ipad is, it still isn't a hub.
It wasn't dumb luck. The company has done a tremendous job with Windows Server, and pretty much everything related to selling to big enterprises. They have developed those relationships well and increased sales to big players. They do a great job marketing to enterprises. Hence you have consumers thinking the company sucks, but the company is still improving and succeeeding...because companies, not consumers, spend a ton of money and drive Microsoft to greater success. Server division has had double digit growth for a number of years in a row now and is the the growth engine in the company
