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Microsoft is entering what Jim Collins would call the 4th stage of decline: Grasping for salvation. Unless something changes dramatically very soon, I wouldn't

• thematt 15y ago
  That's an overstatement to say the least. Microsoft still mints money at an incredible rate. They may be doing terrible in the mobile and web space, but Windows and Office will continue to live for a long time, particularly in corporate environments.
  • fvryan 15y ago
    and at least they aren't myspace.
  • commandar 15y ago
    But unless Microsoft finds a new vision and direction, they're in serious trouble when those cash cows start to go dry. What makes Microsoft's floundering under Ballmer particularly galling is the fact that Microsoft has been acutely aware of this for a very long time; the Sun and Netscape antitrust suits were born of Microsoft's fear of a platform-neutral world. It's not here today, and we're only starting to see the first seeds of it with the rise of rich web applications and platforms like ChromeOS, but it's on its way. Microsoft still has a timeline in the scale of years to work with, but they need to start focusing aggressively on the future sooner rather than later, and, frankly, I don't see Ballmer as being the person capable of guiding the company through a transition they're going to have to make if they're going to survive in the long-term.
  • jmvoodoo 15y ago
    Microsoft has an execution problem. Plain and simple. Their competitive advantage for Windows and Office are huge, I'm not arguing that. However, if you look at the numbers you'll see that they are in decline. Having an execution problem, long term, kills companies. No matter how great their advantage may be.