According to Gartner and some industry folks that are “in the know,” Microsoft is in for some dire straights ahead because of the failure for Vista to take off as expected and the way things are unfolding in the internet and application development space.
Kind of like I’ve be saying for the past few months (here and especially here), Microsoft has a serious challenge ahead of them. Cloud computing is becoming more popular. Almost every new project that I’ve been working on relies on some sort of cloud based system.
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I don’t think their situation is nearly as dire as you think. Vista is just one component of a HUGE multi-headed hydra. In fact, I would argue that their Office business line is driving the company now (financially, anyway). And I don’t just mean the desktop office apps, I’m talking about Office Sharepoint Server (MOSS). MS has sold 4 times as many licenses to MOSS 2007 as they had anticipated. Corporations, local governments, and even non-profits (like the one I work for) are adopting MOSS in droves. The collaboration tools it provides, and the fact that it leverages the huge installed base of the Office desktop apps, makes this a VERY compelling platform for businesses already drinking the MS kool-aid.
I’m no MS fan boy, but developing on MS infrastructure pays the bills. Experienced Sharepoint developers can command hourly rates starting in the $100 range, without batting an eyelash.
You think Microsoft doesn’t have any capability in cloud computing?
You do know they maintain one of the world’s largest computing clusters for MS live search, right? At last publicly disclosed count, they had at least 50,000 servers running in live search, plus thousands in other properties like hotmail, msn and windows update.
I don’t think cloud computing capability is going to be a problem for them.