Last Updated:

Microsoft on the Go- What's Next? [Part 2]

Kushal Raut
Kushal Raut

Microsoft’s Present State

(If you haven't read the Part 1, I suggest you, check out the Part 1. It's worth it ;) Part 1


If we are talking about the present. It is evident that Microsoft is growing up. They are acquiring new services. You might ask, why? The answer is because they have understood that they can no longer depend on Windows alone anymore. They have learnt that they just can’t stay in the race being an OS company. The world is inclining towards the Web, so those are the risks which they want to eliminate. Nor can they do anything new which can go over the Tech- Giants as of now. Surely, they took time to understand this with the Fall of Nokia Lumia Devices and Windows RT. As a result, Microsoft has started to focus on services which People, Enterprise would use as a whole. They are creating Hardware Products like Holo Lens, Surface Device for niche audience and professionals. They are innovating then never before. The innovation like Old Apple? Can’t say.

You might have even noticed about what I said above. Just open up the Play store or App Store and search for MS Apps. You would find them all. This wasn’t the case earlier. They have understood that they won’t be able to create a Third Primary Ecosystem. So, they are focusing on the building their impressions on the existing primary ecosystems like Android and iOS.

Microsoft’s other projects are gaining momentum too. Microsoft Surface Devices are becoming widespread among the niche audience. Azure is rapidly growing and competing with Amazon Web Services. Holo Lens is in the works for the public. 360 Subscription is scaling up with offers, Android and iOS apps are getting released for people to do more. XBOX is becoming popular. Not on par, but one of a significant risk achievement for Microsoft. They are just getting on the track and making progress with their public focus.

Mircosoft’s Revenue

When Satya Nadella was appointed as the CEO of Microsoft, he was taking over a company that is over-dependent on a single product named Windows OS, whatever MS is doing at that time is revolved around Windows. Since then, he started to drive the company from Windows Centred on too much more diverse platforms like Mobile & Cloud and his motto was “mobile first, cloud first”.

Microsoft felt a fresh breeze of air, with increasing profits from non-Windows sectors, i.e. Profits from Cloud (Services and Products that are available online) doubled than the previous quarter and revenue rose to $6.3 billion. This gave a boost to the investor's confidence in the company, and Microsoft shares are up over 30% In comparison, On the contrary. Microsoft’s stock dropped nearly 12% during Ballmer’s tenure and underperformed the market.

Microsoft isn’t an advertising company like Google or Facebook. The thing you need to understand is that the revenue which they make is by selling services and hardware line up of products. Services for People like 360 Subscription, Windows for Personal Use, Android Apps, XBOX, Skype Enterprise Services like Azure, Cloud Computing, Team, LinkedIn, GitHub etc

They don’t make up much from advertising *cough* Bing! Even Cortona is a Service Utility. They are gathering in more and more services to offer the people.

[More Details Analysis of Revenue]

Innovation at Microsoft 


With regards to innovation, Microsoft is doing good. It is one of the only company which is trying now new things. Be it a Success or not, it is getting creative in building things. Also, Microsoft has almost found their niche audience for their Surface Devices. It is already pushing it for a more and more broader audience. It is a clear leader in Cloud Security. Microsoft is no longer the same boring company as earlier. It’s figuring out things and has got a way to go. Holo Lens, Surface Devices clearly stand out for the audience.

Satya Nadella’s Vision


After Steve Ballmer, Satya Nadella was replaced at the helm. He, first of all, cleared the beautiful mess which Baller created in the first place. Nadella understood the situation and organised the things in a better way. He modelled Microsoft around Mobile and Cloud First. Right from splitting the Windows, Office and Azure Teams to the killing of Windows Phone he did all to make Microsoft better.

Satya Nadella as a CEO is concentrating on Microsoft’s Services as a whole and not just Windows and Office. To add more to the list, he’s even focusing on Augmented Reality (AI). Satya knows very well unlike Ballmer that Companies need to be focused on ensuring that they stay relevant and competitive by embracing this transformation. He’s hitting the Refresh Button for Microsoft and brought about a Cultural Transformation.

To Sum up Satya Nadella’s vision for Microsoft-

“Voice, Ink, Gaze, Interactions all with the power of AI, Cloud Computing and make lives easier.”

Conclusion

As we can see, the loss of focus during the middle boils down to leadership. That was the part where things go wrong at times, i.e. the decisions. Obviously, Nadella can’t take Microsoft back to the previous state as it was at the time of Bill Gates. They can’t hide their scars, instead, they decided to use their scars as a second skin and get better and better.

Bill Gates had real genius and vision, but at the end of this tenure, it was distracted. Ballmer’s time at the helm was a bunch of missteps combined with Auto-Pilot on some divisions. Now, Satya Nadella seems to be handling the Ship’s Dashboard well, but it is a massive ship and would turn slowly. Time and only time would tell how the ship would go.

So, what do you think about Microsoft's Present? Where would they go in near future? Let us know in the comments below.

Comments