The Assault on Software Giant Microsoft

An interesting BBC article about Microsoft's increasing competition. Competition that is coming from an ever increasing number of directions. So is Microsoft going to implode? No, it's more like death from 1000 cuts. Let's not forget though, Microsoft has enough money for quite a few bandaides. And they still have a ton of talent, even if they aren't innovating at the moment. What I think is going to happen is a slow erosion of some of Microsoft's cash cow products, such as Office and Windows. Don't get me wrong, when Longhorn finally comes out it will ship a ton of units. But the damage the delays and feature cuts have have done to thier image – that they won't get back. The article makes a good point; companies are no longer afraid to compete with Microsoft. Not only that, some companies are competing and actually staying in business. Imagine that. So where does that leave MSFT? They'll surely try to get into other markets, but most of those won't allow them the margins and revenues that shareholders have come to expect. Like their business practices or not, Microsoft puts up very good numbers very consistently. What market is large enough? Entertainment and Media, which is a direction that Microsoft is already headed in. I would not be surprised at all if in ten years they generate as much revenue from those industries as they do from software, if not more. Only time will tell. What do you think?

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