4 ms·

"He (Ballmer) restructured the company... ...and elevated people with general management experience into positions previously held by technology-focused execut

by tx 18y ago

"He (Ballmer) restructured the company... ...and elevated people with general management experience into positions previously held by technology-focused executives." Bam! And it's all downhill from there...

deleted 18y ago
[deleted]
jeroen 18y ago
Like this: "... NetDocs, a promising effort to offer software programs such as word processing over the Internet. The issue: Because NetDocs risked cannibalizing sales of Microsoft's cash-cow Office programs, some executives wanted NetDocs killed. ... First, NetDocs ballooned to a 400-person staff, then it got folded into the Office group in early 2001, where it died." The earliest mention of NetDocs I found was from 2000, 6 years before Google Docs was released. I imagine the tech execs would have supported the innovation and made MS a leader, but the management execs only thought about protecting their cashcow, which leaves MS trying to catch up with Google.
- whatusername 18y ago
  I wonder what Gates position would be? Some products shrink markets. (Easy example in Encyclopedias. Books==$$$$, Encarta/WorldBook==$, Wikipedia==FREE) I think NetDocs would be one of those. I guess the question is - from a business standpoint - why do you want go from leading your own $10 Billion industry to leading your own $100 Million industry? *Note that figures are utterly made up. As leading shareholder, BillyG has an interest in Microsoft making money (It funds his work in Africa for one thing!).... I guess it's an industry that Open Source and other players (eg Google) can eventually destroy on their own, but I'm not 100% sure that BillyG would have so quickly destroyed it... I guess the issue might be one of pricing though --> and in 2000 MS could have released NetDocs at similar pricing levels to Office - and that might have changed things.. But letting Google etc come in to the market for free before they had the presence, has probably hasn't the end... (Sorry for the rambling - Have to run..)
  - cstejerean 18y ago
    Better you kill your cash cow than let the competition do it. Every company ought to learn this lesson and embrace change instead of trying desperately to maintain the status quo. Otherwise we're bound to hear the same sad stories like MS, the newspaper business, the music business, etc

by tx 18y ago

deleted 18y ago

[deleted]

jeroen 18y ago

Like this: "... NetDocs, a promising effort to offer software programs such as word processing over the Internet. The issue: Because NetDocs risked cannibalizing sales of Microsoft's cash-cow Office programs, some executives wanted NetDocs killed. ... First, NetDocs ballooned to a 400-person staff, then it got folded into the Office group in early 2001, where it died." The earliest mention of NetDocs I found was from 2000, 6 years before Google Docs was released. I imagine the tech execs would have supported the innovation and made MS a leader, but the management execs only thought about protecting their cashcow, which leaves MS trying to catch up with Google.

whatusername 18y ago
I wonder what Gates position would be? Some products shrink markets. (Easy example in Encyclopedias. Books==$$$$, Encarta/WorldBook==$, Wikipedia==FREE) I think NetDocs would be one of those. I guess the question is - from a business standpoint - why do you want go from leading your own $10 Billion industry to leading your own $100 Million industry? *Note that figures are utterly made up. As leading shareholder, BillyG has an interest in Microsoft making money (It funds his work in Africa for one thing!).... I guess it's an industry that Open Source and other players (eg Google) can eventually destroy on their own, but I'm not 100% sure that BillyG would have so quickly destroyed it... I guess the issue might be one of pricing though --> and in 2000 MS could have released NetDocs at similar pricing levels to Office - and that might have changed things.. But letting Google etc come in to the market for free before they had the presence, has probably hasn't the end... (Sorry for the rambling - Have to run..)
- cstejerean 18y ago
  Better you kill your cash cow than let the competition do it. Every company ought to learn this lesson and embrace change instead of trying desperately to maintain the status quo. Otherwise we're bound to hear the same sad stories like MS, the newspaper business, the music business, etc