The company’s chief executive, Steve Ballmer, has continued to deliver huge profits. They totaled well over $100 billion in the past 10 years alone and help sustain the economies of Seattle, Washington State and the nation as a whole. Its founder, Bill Gates, is not only the most generous philanthropist in history, but has also inspired thousands of his employees to give generously themselves. No one in his right mind should wish Microsoft failure.
And yet it is failing, even as it reports record earnings. As the fellow who tried (and largely failed) to make tablet PCs and e-books happen at Microsoft a decade ago, I could say this is because the company placed too much faith in people like me. But the decline is so broad and so striking that it would be presumptuous of me to take responsibility for it.
Microsoft has become a clumsy, uncompetitive innovator. Its products are lampooned, often unfairly but sometimes with good reason. Its image has never recovered from the antitrust prosecution of the 1990s. Its marketing has been inept for years; remember the 2008 ad in which Bill Gates was somehow persuaded to literally wiggle his behind at the camera?
It helps Apple that in Steve Jobs it has a corporate dictator who appears to be the final arbiter in its innovations. Apple’s risk is that when Steve Jobs goes it may not be able to keep that up. Remember when John Sculley was president? Maybe they learned.
From what I have seen of Microsoft, this is a completely misleading interpretation. Mr. Brass claims they are not an unrepentant intentional monopolist but rather a highly repentant, largely accidental monopolist. He is misrepresenting what has come out in the multiple anti-trust trials. Bill Gates is reported to have said that Microsoft’s only fair share of the market place was 100% of it. And Microsoft has consistently acted on that theme. The [url=http://www.groklaw.net/staticpages/index.php?page=2007021720190018]Comes vs. MS[/url] trial uncovered what this person sweeps under the carpet, enough so that Microsoft sought a settlement rather than go to trial.
Whatever else Microsoft may or may not be, it is a fantastic place to work. I passed twelve years last November, and it is easily the best job I’ve ever had.