14 DAY TRIAL // Do you have your tickets to the Microsoft gun show? Because it's obvious they've been flexing their muscles lately. There's a reason why the name is world renowned and better yet, the number one software company in the world, and that's because they have perseverance. A key quality only found in any truly successful corporations.
If you haven't noticed, Microsoft Corp. has been a mover and a shaker recently. It has come out of the pseudo shadow that Google and Yahoo have periodically cast. The noticeable change came truly from one person, and that was Ray Ozzie. When Ray "Lotus" Ozzie, the new savior of Microsoft, sent his infamous Internet Services Disruption Memo to Executive Staff and direct reports, things were on track for a big change.
Microsoft had finally realized that things had gotten out of their control. For a corporation that had literally dominated every part of the software market to come to the realization that things had slipped through their fingers probably came as a shock. Not only to the company itself, but to its competitors who soon found different avenues of attacking and making money, things that Microsoft hadn't even thought about.
Ray Ozzie was the man who re-opened everyone's eyes and it was also him who yelled 'Eureka' for the whole company to see what was on the verge of the horizon. In the memo, he outlined that the Net made Microsoft successful in 1995, the dot com boom in 2000 kept Microsoft's business booming, and in the year 2005, he looked again at the ever changing market and identified the Services market as the path Microsoft should take to continue its journey.
His memo analyzes the typical Internet services trends, the competition (most noticeably Google) and Microsoft's strengths and shortcomings. Aside from these things, he suggests that in order to handle the vast amount of competition, change must be imminent. "It's clear that if we fail to do so, our business as we know it is at risk? We must respond quickly and decisively," Ozzie wrote.
It is this path that Microsoft has indeed chosen to follow and if we were to look back to that October 28 memo to the present, some may be surprised to see what has changed. Microsoft has continued its dominant path of software development, but it's also spread itself in some departments that are relatively new to even themselves.
To set things in motion, a company must hire the right man for the job. Bill Gates did that with Ray Ozzie and from there the cycle grew. In order to compete in new markets, they not only had to bring on new people, but also new partners along with new ideas.
For a company that created the box, they certainly know how to think outside of it. In order to compete with Skype, Microsoft teamed up with the potent telephony all-star MCI to give customers VoIP to PC for 'MCI Web Calling for Windows Live Call'. They challenged the existing technology with a predetermined notion of the services already offered and they are getting ready to compete in online telephony at the highest level with the biggest players.
To counteract Google Earth's unbelievable service, Microsoft created a significant boost in local search services by introducing Windows Live Local. It uses satellites and aerial captured images to be seen at the click of a mouse. A noticeable difference in this technology versus Google Earth is that Microsoft uses low flying airplanes to acquire their images rather than just satellite pictures.
To counteract the huge success of Mac and their notorious little iPod gadgets, along with iTunes, Microsoft has let loose Urge, their partnered MTV response to the Mac threat. This was heavily promoted at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas where Microsoft's Bill Gates and superstar Justin Timberlake both endorsed the service. They even got Timberlake to say that "Urge offers artists like myself a new way to reach music fans with a ton of options to play, interact with and buy music."
They've not only moved in the music service industry, but also the movie service industry with their recent deal with BSkyB. They plan to make the British satellite broadcaster to allow programs to be viewed through Microsoft's Windows computer software. With the 2006 release of Vista, things could take a huge turn for an even higher demand of their latest and greatest software. Sky by broadband will include "hundreds of movies to download and hundreds of sports clips to stream."
If you think that's all they've been up to, you're fooling yourself. Their latest push toward the Advertising market is most notable with their recent creation of the Microsoft adLab (Microsoft adCenter Incubation Lab) which redefines what it means to have interactive advertising. According to Microsoft, it's a combination of MSN's adCenter and Microsoft Research which is in fact a state-of-the-art lab in Beijing with a "mission to research and incubate advanced technologies for MSN's adCenter." At the adCenter Demo Fest, they've introduced new online advertising solutions, video opportunities, and television and mobile-based advertising products, Google and Yahoo are in some serious trouble. Their latest technology is truly futuristic; if you're watching an online movie or TV show, all you'd have to do is click on the item to see detailed product descriptions and information on where the products can be bought.
They're on the move. That's for sure. They've taken Ray Ozzie's call for change and implemented their talents and perseverance to old school domination. They've taken the New Year's in stride and have turned on the afterburners with the sheer amount of energy, work and active pursuit of the Service Markets. They've switched gears and at the same time mentalities, they're no longer being reactive, but rather proactive when it comes to the service industry.
With everything seemingly going Microsoft's way, it'll be interesting to see what's in store for them down the line. They've launched what some say has been a truly successful XBOX 360 campaign, Vista should be out by the end of next year and they'll soon be competing with the big players of the service industry. Even if they don't grab the number one spot from the competition, competitors will still be in some slight shock from the amount of customers Microsoft will be able to pull away from the existing market. The name itself attracts success, and people tend to follow the best.
What do you think is in store for the future of Microsoft?