puffer fish

Expansion Plan Calls for Microsoft to Battle in Seven Markets. This Gartner report almost got by me last week.

Analysis

During the meeting, Microsoft stressed “growth through innovation.” Most of the vendor’s new initiatives target a wide range of devices, not just PCs. Microsoft will invest more in efforts to boost individuals’ productivity and in entertainment. (The meeting focused less on the company’s investments in enterprise software.) In particular, Microsoft plans to:

* Expand the presence of the Windows client in the business and consumer segments
* Exploit multiple communication and messaging technologies
* Enable the points of integration from the device outward that facilitate information sharing and collaboration
* Continue to pursue the small and midsize business segment with a major push in tailored business applications and infrastructure
* Target certain large enterprises with infrastructure technologies

Prospects: This broad approach means Microsoft intends to battle a wide range of competitors:

* Consumer markets: Google (search), Apple Computer (music), Sony (gaming) and Nokia (mobile Java)
* Enterprise markets: IBM (databases and operating systems), Oracle (databases and business applications) and the open-source community (operating systems and many other areas)



  1. Jim Dermitt says:

    If Microsoft could make a better Linux disro, they could sell millions and get in on the Linux thing. They’d have to spend next to nothing on R&D, brand it Lindows or something and sell it for $30.00, add in Penguin Plus for $9.99 and give away an encyclopedia. They could pitch as being Genuine and invent another Penguin mascot. Microsoft could spend more on R&D for important stuff like game consoles, search engines, music and televisions.

  2. Mike Voice says:

    Forbes has an interesting article on Micro$oft’s new strategy concerning Linux.
    http://www.forbes.com/free_forbes/2004/0816/065.html

    What caught my eye:

  3. Mike Voice says:

    What caught my eye, in the Forbes article:

    Taylor is fond of pointing out that the battle against Linux is an increasingly familiar one. “Before, Linux was this cloud we didn’t get, now it is Red Hat, Novell, IBM. We know how to compete with companies. I was high-fiving everyone I could find when Novell bought [German Linux distributor] SuSe. We already won once against Novell.”

  4. Jim Dermitt says:

    The Thai government, in conjunction with Microsoft, is now running a program to get Starter EditionWindow XP PCs to the local population. It’s going to be cheap and many Asian PC users rely now on pirated copies of Windows or run Linux. No word of a cheap XP Starter Edition in the U.S., but hey maybe if open source starts catching on more, our government will be pitching Windows for Microsoft.

  5. Jim Dermitt says:

    It looks like Linux is accelerating into POS transactions Circuit City, the big box retailer is taking advantage of SUSE Linux and IBM Store Integration. Gateway is reportedly going to be working with BestBuy on the retail side. Who knows, we might see IBM moving into retail as well. Linux won’t be taking up shelf space in the stores. I could see a kiosk now with a high speed line and customers burning free Linux disks in the store and picking up new hardware to run it on. Maybe you’ll just buy a new hard drive and hook it to a kiosk and download the OS right in the store, no CD’s involved. Perhaps the whole shrink wrapped software department at the local big box store will shrink. More room for marked up hardware, higher margins and more kiosks on the way. This could be the trend. This could mean changes for companies like Dell who do mail order. Customization on demand at the retail level will mean a custom configuration without the shipping time lag or waiting for your PC via UPS. A big plus for the consumer is that if the machine has problems, you can go to the store for help or an exchange. Stay tuned.

    From the Circuit City press release: “By employing the IBM Retail Environment for SUSE Linux at the point of sale, Circuit City will have the flexibility and reliability of open standards, enabling Circuit City to adapt quickly to changes in the retail marketplace and to cost-effectively institute future upgrades to the platform. The IBM Store Integration Framework allows for customized combinations of IBM middleware solutions with specialized applications from IBM’s network of independent software vendors and industry-specific services to allow a retailer to be more responsive to business opportunities and customer demands.”

  6. Jim Dermitt says:

    I just checked out you CBS column on spam. Here’s a short note on spam and Linux.

    Honeyd.org claims “Linux is being used for at least 43% of all spammy connections”. If Linux users are generating so much spam, that could help explain why Linux development is so slow. Spam isn’t helping the open source effort any. I’d argue that it is hurting it. I guess if you don’t destroy your technology, somebody else will. That’s a difficult concept for business to handle.

    See http://www.honeyd.org/spam.php
    NOTE: A honeypot is as a closely monitored computing resource that we intend to be probed, attacked, or compromised.

  7. Jim Dermitt says:

    Honeypots also help to track which IP addresses are used for sending spam. The following statistics show the top twenty addresses that send spam to Honeyd honeypots.
    Stats at my last check IP Address Minute Hour Day
    168.143.119.240 0.0% 0.0% 38.2%
    198.65.163.30 0.0% 0.0% 39.9%
    http://www.honeyd.org/live.php#spam


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