- Microsoft has a commanding position in the market for PC software but it cannot really afford to antagonise its partners.
- By making its own hardware, Microsoft risks doing exactly that but the slow take off of Windows 8 appears to be forcing its hand.
- I have long held the view that the main reason for Microsoft to make the Surface is to demonstrate to hardware makers and to consumers exactly what Windows 8 is all about and what if offers.
- This is why the circulation of the device has been limited to Microsoft’s own retail stores and through its website.
- However now it seems that the frustration of the slow take off of Windows 8 has gotten the better of Microsoft and it is trying to jump start the market on its own.
- This is why I believe it has decided to expand its distribution channels to Best Buy and Staples earlier than expected.
- Making the device more widely available should help shipments as well as stimulate interest in Windows 8, but it’s a very fine line between jump starting a market and competing with one’s partners.
- Despite public protestations, the PC industry is not happy with Microsoft moving to do its own hardware.
- This is because no one can be dependent on the software of a competitor and so Microsoft, despite its power, should always remain neutral in the hardware space.
- For now, volumes are low enough for it not to matter much but that could change.
- January should see the Windows Surface Pro arrive which is a fully fledged tablet that can perform exactly as a laptop.
- If that proves to be what the market is looking for and demand rises strongly then Microsoft faces the problem of competing against its partners.
- But for partners, where else are they going to go?
- The short-lived fad that was the netbook clearly showed that a Linux based OS gets no real interest from users.
- Android? Impossible to compete with Apple at one end and with Amazon at the other.
- Chrome? One is in the same boat as with Microsoft. Google is racked with engineering disease and is showing every intention of continuing to make hardware.
- Hence, Microsoft is unlikely to lose any partners over the Surface but it is always better to have a good relationship with your partners.
- Furthermore, a large slice of Microsoft’s market is showing every sign of vanishing into iOS and Android while the rest is sluggish and uninterested in Windows 8.
- Microsoft needs all its pals around it to make the Windows 8 ecosystem fulfil its great potential.
- Execution remains the key risk as it has been for the last 16 years of unmitigated failure in the mobile arena.
Qualcomm – Confident Outin ...
20 November 2024