It's true, they've still got massive market-share and piles of cash. If you're competing in the enterprise software space, they're a major contender. However,

It's true, they've still got massive market-share and piles of cash. If you're competing in the enterprise software space, they're a major contender. However, it used to be that every new technology venture had to consider 'the Microsoft problem'. As in, 'How do we avoid getting squashed by Microsoft?' That's simply not true anymore. When was the last time you heard someone seriously discussing Microsoft as a competitive threat? Outside of games, operating systems, and office suites, MS has been largely de-fanged. Unless they turn things around, they're going to turn into another Oracle. Big, but not a powerful force outside their narrow domain.