Hey, the PC market is somewhat less bad than it used to be! This has to be good news, right? That full economic recovery must be right around the corner...right?
Posted by Lee Pender on 10/20/2010 at 1:23 PM0 comments
Finally, an honest-to-goodness, basically full-featured, legitimate online version of Microsoft Office is in beta. It's competitively priced and aimed squarely at the right market -- small and tiny businesses. And, fortunately, Microsoft decided to drop one of the worst and most hilarious product names of all time -- BPOS -- and give the service a decent moniker, Office 365. Although we are worried that Xbox 360 might get jealous at some point...
Posted by Lee Pender on 10/20/2010 at 1:23 PM0 comments
Before you start reading this entry, click on this link and read Scott Bekker's take on Ray Ozzie's "retirement." Seriously, just do it. Go back right now and click it. Your editor won't be offended. Bekker nailed this thing, and you're better off reading his blog post than you are reading what follows here.
OK, with that out of the way (seriously, go back and click now), let's talk about why Microsoft and Ray Ozzie were very good for each other and why Ozzie's tenure in Redmond ended exactly as it should have. Oh, we know. Nobody else feels this way. News of Ozzie's "retirement" this week has sent the pundisphere (let's try to make that catch on...) into a tizzy, with most commentators taking Steve Ballmer and Microsoft to task for losing a visionary and questioning the future of the company (again).
OK, so maybe the timing of Ozzie's departure isn't perfect, with Microsoft getting rolling in the cloud with Azure and other services. And maybe Ozzie didn't turn out to be the next Bill Gates as some in the pundisphere expected he would. But waiting for the "next" anybody is usually an exercise in futility. Only Gates is Gates, and Ozzie never had the edgy business sense or the thirst for power that made Gates such a financial success.
And as for the cloud, Ozzie was -- quietly -- the visionary behind Azure, as well as the construction of a bunch of huge data centers, which have already made Microsoft a major player in the cloud. Before Ozzie arrived in Redmond, Microsoft was looking positively Luddite, floating by on the (admittedly swanky) life rafts of Windows and Office as the rest of the industry prepared for the rapid evolution of online services.
In half a decade, Ozzie revved Microsoft up from zero to competitive in the cloud, and he leaves a technological legacy that will serve Microsoft well for years to come. He wasn't a particularly good speaker; he didn't have Gates' drive or Ballmer's chutzpa, and he was never the right guy to be the next face of Microsoft. But years from now, when Microsoft is a major player in the ever-expanding cloud, Ozzie's fingerprints will still be all over Microsoft's success. Ray Ozzie did what he needed to do in Redmond, and Microsoft got what it needed from Ray Ozzie.
So, how about Microsoft, which seems to be leaking top executives? There might be a legitimate brain-drain problem there, but Ozzie's departure isn't symptomatic of it. Really, Ozzie and Microsoft were essentially finished with each other, both having been better for their relationship. It's up to Microsoft to carry out Ozzie's vision now, but carrying out a vision is easier than having it in the first place. As for Ozzie, his future is wide open. He'll be able to do whatever he likes -- even "retire," if that's what he wants to do (although we doubt that, obviously).
Breakups are rarely easy, and very few relationships actually end well. But the relationship between Ray Ozzie and Microsoft finished about as positively as it could have. Really. For both parties, with a little determination, everything else from here can be blue skies.
What's your take on Ray Ozzie's tenure at Microsoft? Send your thoughts to [email protected].
Posted by Lee Pender on 10/20/2010 at 1:23 PM0 comments
We've had the X-Men, the X Files, OS X, Generation X, even the movie Malcolm X...and now Adobe has given us Acrobat X. Oh, sure, we know that some of those X's are actually tens in Roman numerals, but we're trying to work with a theme here...
Posted by Lee Pender on 10/18/2010 at 1:23 PM0 comments
If you had a billion dollars to spend, how would you spend it? Would you advertise your new mobile operating system and motion-controller game peripheral? No?
Well, that's how Microsoft is about to spend a cool bil. The combined advertising budgets of Windows Phone 7 and the Kinect game add-on (what is it with Microsoft and the word "kin," anyway?) will amount to one billion dollars.
Yeah, we know. That's chump change in Redmond. Still, we're about to be bombarded with messages about a mobile OS that's arguably behind its two biggest competitors feature-wise and a motion-control function that delivers more or less what the Wii introduced years ago. Just how successful these initiatives will be, of course, remains to be seen...but let's not forget that it took pretty much a decade for Microsoft's game-development efforts to actually turn a profit.
For partners, all of this stuff is peripheral at best, although some partners might be able to cash in on Windows Phone 7 somehow. The greater point here, and the one we keep making in this space, is that moves like this one in Redmond signal where Microsoft's priorities are and where they're going to be going forward.
There's no doubt that the Microsoft Partner Network is bringing sweeping changes in comparison to its predecessor, the Microsoft Partner Program. And we believe, based on feedback we've had, that the MPN will be much more about big, global partners than the more egalitarian MPP was.
So, mid-size and smaller partners, you could soon see a decrease in marketing funds, support and other investment flowing from Redmond. Maybe you're feeling the pinch already. Yet Microsoft -- and we get that we're talking about a huge, multi-faceted company here -- is letting $1 billion flow into one area (games) that has mostly been a money loser and another (mobile) that the company has shockingly mismanaged in recent years (and months, for that matter). Oh, and by the way, that $1 billion is just for advertising. Don't forget that.
Microsoft will have an enterprise presence for many years to come, as well it should. And a lot of partners will be able to continue to profit from that aspect of Microsoft's business. But if you're wondering where the company wants to head for the next few years to come, don't ask your Partner Account Manager (if you still have -- or ever had -- one). Follow the money, or just turn on the TV. You won't be able to miss what Microsoft is buying with its billion dollars.
How do you feel about Microsoft investing so heavily in advertising for games and Windows Phone 7? Have your say at [email protected].
Posted by Lee Pender on 10/18/2010 at 1:23 PM1 comments
It's a shame that Microsoft can't come up with a catchier name for this product because it's very popular and very useful. SCCM doesn't even really spell anything, and if it does, that's a word we'd rather not have to pronounce.
Posted by Lee Pender on 10/18/2010 at 1:23 PM2 comments
The storage giant's recent acquisition has -- here it comes -- borne fruit.
Posted by Lee Pender on 10/14/2010 at 1:23 PM0 comments
We've written so much about the cloud here recently that we don't even remember which post John was responding to when he sent us an e-mail on Microsoft's cloud efforts. Nevertheless, his thoughts are germane:
"Having worked very closely with Microsoft over the years, I've been becoming more and more frustrated with them and their attitudes to both the customer base and their partners. My background in hosting has seen the evolution of Windows hosting from a nebulous desire and hope of Scott Guthrie's through iterations of 'Solutions' and heavy, and successful, partner involvement on all levels to today's sorry state of affairs where they seem to be paying the partners lip service with vague reseller (actually referral) agreements and the injunction to 'create a new eco system' in support of BPOS / MOS <insert this months acronym here>. The grand statement of 'We're all in' is fine, but unfortunately the reality is that the organization is still very fragmented, and the alignment of products and their metrics is not following this grand scheme."
John, we hear you. Microsoft has made some strides in turning hype into reality in the cloud -- see Azure and the construction of a bunch of data centers -- but it still has a long way to go to get where it needs to be. (Then again, though, so do a lot of vendors.) What bothers us most, though, is what you mention about partners. We really feel as though the winds of change are blowing in the Partner Prog… sorry, Microsoft Partner Network. We believe that Microsoft is going to focus increasingly on large ISVs and systems integrators to the detriment of smaller consultants, VARs and resellers. Already, as you said, the "reseller" agreements for Microsoft's cloud services look more like petty payoffs than like true partner agreements. And Microsoft is not being shy at all about touting its own self-hosted services. So… yeah. We see where you're coming from.
And speaking of where John is coming from, he sent a link to a blog entry of his that is as dead-on a take about Microsoft's consumer-vs.-enterprise conundrum as we've read anywhere. Check it out.
Have something to say about any of the posts you've read in RCPU lately? Say it at [email protected].
Posted by Lee Pender on 10/14/2010 at 1:23 PM1 comments
How will Microsoft's new mobile operating system fare in the market? And is it any good? RCP's Jeff Schwartz offers some excellent observations (but only tepid enthusiasm) on the matter following his live coverage of the Windows Phone 7 launch event.
Posted by Lee Pender on 10/14/2010 at 1:23 PM0 comments
We do a lot of reflecting here at RCPU. And we're not just talking about contemplation here. We try as best we can to be something of a mirror on the industry, particularly where Microsoft partners are concerned. That is to say that we try to consolidate and present in this space various observers' views -- as well as our own, of course -- on different topics.
That's why we're surprised at a lot of the reaction to Windows Phone 7, which Microsoft launched Monday on a semi-holiday here in the U.S. that RCPU actually had off of work. We had read over and over (and we had mentioned more than a few times) that the popular perception of Windows 7 among supposed experts was that it would be a dud the day it came out, woefully behind the iPhone and Android operating systems. That sounded totally plausible to us given Microsoft's recent history in the mobile market, so we bought into that view.
Then Monday happened, and everything changed -- at least from what we can tell. Instead of reading about how Windows Phone 7 was another failure by Microsoft to create a compelling mobile OS, we saw headlines full of praise for Redmond. The trade press got on board, as did the business press and industry analysts. Heck, even the great Stephen Fry, the noted English actor, author and humorist who is a famous Mac disciple, had kind -- and apparently unsolicited -- words to say about Microsoft's new OS.
So, what are we to make of all this? Did Windows Phone 7 really blow everybody away at its launch? Did it merely surpass, fairly easily, expectations that were pretty low to begin with? Or is a contrite technology community simply acknowledging -- and not even all that grudgingly -- that Microsoft took something that it has mostly gotten wrong in the past and actually got it pretty much right?
Honestly, we have no idea. Your editor is a bit of a phone Luddite and hasn't played with Windows Phone 7. And, clearly, it's way too early to know whether Microsoft has produced something here that could make a serious impact on a hypercompetitive market. But, hey, if Windows Phone 7 isn't lousy, if it's actually pretty good, that's all the better for Microsoft and Microsoft partners. We're still skeptic al about Microsoft's need to produce a mobile OS at all, but if Redmond is going to take the time to create one it might as well be good. And maybe Windows Phone 7 is...maybe.
What's your initial impression of Windows Phone 7? Will you buy a device with the new OS on it? Send your answers to [email protected].
Posted by Lee Pender on 10/13/2010 at 1:23 PM5 comments
Here's one for RCPU's Christmas list: a car that drives itself. It's Google's idea, of course, because it makes total sense that a software and search company should be developing and road-testing cars. Anyway, as a long-time Boston driver who still can't find Fenway Park without a GPS, your editor is completely in favor of this development.
But while these cars have apparently navigated some streets in San Francisco and highways in California, can they make it through the one-way streets of Cambridge, Mass., in September when students' moving vans are double-parked all over town? That'll be the real test for these machines. Chapeau, by the way, to your editor's brother-in-law, who sent this article over the weekend.
Posted by Lee Pender on 10/13/2010 at 1:23 PM1 comments
We're not totally sure how to digest this bit of information -- hence the brevity of this entry -- but rumors continue to pop up regarding Microsoft making a move to buy Adobe. In case you hadn't heard by now, apparently the two companies were in secret talks that are now not so secret. The market is all excited about this, as you might imagine. But remember, Microsoft buying Yahoo was once a done deal, too, until it wasn't.
Posted by Lee Pender on 10/13/2010 at 1:23 PM0 comments