Where Microsoft's Profits Come From
Linked by Thom Holwerda on Fri 12th Feb 2010 22:55 UTC
Microsoft Sometimes, the sheer size of a company like Microsoft can make it quite hard to see and realise just how large and profitable such a company can really be. In these kinds of situations, there's nothing like a clear graph to make all those pretty numbers tangible. Up to a point.
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tomcat
Member since:
2006-01-06

Where they are losing out is in nascent markets not already dominated by them. They've consistently failed to break into these areas and never profited from them (so the incentive to put effort in is low). Not only do companies not consider Microsoft in these areas, but they actively discriminate against them.


Actually, that's not accurate. Microsoft has made serious inroads into markets that it didn't control; for example, smartphones (Windows Mobile), game consoles (Xbox 360), and servers (Windows Server). However, it rested on its laurels in smartphones, failed to innovate, and allowed Apple and Google to wrest market share away. That doesn't mean Microsoft is out of the game, though. The irony of having Apple and Google battle one another over the smartphone market is that there probably won't be a single competitor that dominates in that space. It's more likely that each major competitor will control a small portion of the overall market, and that leaves the door open for Microsoft; although, frankly, they better do something ground-breaking, or their brand will be permanently damaged.

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