Wednesday, September 21, 2005
The Microsoft Shuffle: "We Need to Improve Agility"
Microsoft Shuffles Leadership - New York Times:
It's a "bit more a paradigm shift" said Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft, when asked to describe the transition that his company is undergoing right now. "We need to improve agility," said Ballmer in a NYT interview.
It seems that the lumbering giant is facing more nimble competition.
Microsoft is doing a major reshuffling in the face of this new kind of competition:
The competition between these rivals is to see who can bring "new technologies to the marketplace over the Web" fastest. Online services on demand seems to be the business model that will dominate software and IT development in the near future. Will this new direction create economic growth? Will it make Microsoft more competitive? Yes, it will. Will it be a source of greater productivity and efficiency? Yes, it will. Will it great new jobs in this country? No, the jobs created will be filled in a global labor market, some here, many more where costs are lower. This 'bit of a paradigm shift' may be good for Microsoft, but don't wait up for the ripples to hit your city. Software that delivers services over the web won't have a home town.
It's a "bit more a paradigm shift" said Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft, when asked to describe the transition that his company is undergoing right now. "We need to improve agility," said Ballmer in a NYT interview.
It seems that the lumbering giant is facing more nimble competition.
Microsoft is doing a major reshuffling in the face of this new kind of competition:
Google, for example, has made Microsoft look sluggish as it has consistently outpaced its larger rival in Internet search and seems to have taken an early lead in new technologies like satellite mapping services and desktop search. And much to Microsoft's irritation, Google, the Silicon Valley start-up turned powerhouse, has successfully wooed some of Microsoft's leading engineers.
The Linux operating system, developed by programmers freely sharing code, is a very different sort of challenger from what Microsoft has faced. Other newcomers, like Salesforce.com, are delivering technology used by businesses to do things like track customers over the Web instead of as a software product.
All these rivals are exploiting the Internet and increasingly customers prefer software that is delivered as a service over the Web. Microsoft clearly recognizes the shift.
The competition between these rivals is to see who can bring "new technologies to the marketplace over the Web" fastest. Online services on demand seems to be the business model that will dominate software and IT development in the near future. Will this new direction create economic growth? Will it make Microsoft more competitive? Yes, it will. Will it be a source of greater productivity and efficiency? Yes, it will. Will it great new jobs in this country? No, the jobs created will be filled in a global labor market, some here, many more where costs are lower. This 'bit of a paradigm shift' may be good for Microsoft, but don't wait up for the ripples to hit your city. Software that delivers services over the web won't have a home town.
