day 30

the end of microsoft 2: the late, great microsoft

Figure 2. Microsoft's strategy may be running out of gas. Bruised by the rapid insurgence of Internet products and companies, MS is in for its first challenge. The invincible Musashi of software is obviously Microsoft. Reporting a 39% jump in sales over last year, MS went from $1.6B in the third quarter of 1995, to $2.2B in sales during its 3Q96 selling season. The company showed a corresponding jump in net income, which was up by 42% ($562M) at the same time. What a company! The problem with Microsoft is that it is rapidly becoming a proprietary, single-product company. Sure, MS sets standards and bullies the industry, but like Musashi, MS is a Samurai at a time when there is little work for Samurai to do. The industry has changed, but MS has not. Still acting like a monopoly, MS has painted itself into a corner. Sure, it will take a decade for the cracks in Microsoft's armour to show, but they are already blemishing the company's record. Tomorrow we start a piece-by-piece analysis of the late, great Microsoft. We show where the megalith is weak, and we survey where it is under attack. Managers at MS need to grab the Book of Five Rings, fast!

the end of microsoft: 1 2 3 4 5 Daily Dose Index