I won’t even try to sum up this great article on why Microsoft is in trouble. Go read it yourself.
Anyway this article got me thinking on Microsoft’s strange mixture of effectiveness (the XBox) and meandering (where IS Office for iPad?). The more I analyzed it, the more I came to an interesting conclusion: Microsoft’s best future is two futures.
First, Microsoft has the XBox, which is, frankly, a great machine. It’s my current gaming console and it’s a solid product that really delivers. Microsoft HAS won in console entertainment. They should focus on entertainment.
They also make a bunch of money via Microsoft Office, if only due to sheer legacy usage. They could leverage that as well. They could focus on office products (and say what you will, but I think Excel is one of their triumphs).
I’m thinking Microsoft’s future is split straight down the middle. They’re the serious office software people, AND the entertainment people. Perhaps that’s why Microsoft does strange things or gets entangled in odd ventures, perhaps that’s why acquisitions aren’t always leveraged – Microsoft hasn’t acknowledged that it has two futures in one.
Plus, let me add if they do straighten this out, they’ll be a hell of a powerhouse. For that matter, imagine an XBox with productivity tool options . . .