FollowThe Windows Partner Conference took place on Monday in Washington D.C. Microsoft’ chief operating officer Kevin Turner held a keynote revealing how the company sees its place in today’s world of computing.
Microsoft has been a leader of the tech world for a long time and its position seemed everlasting. Now, COO Turner openly admits that is not the case anymore, a major change comparing to Ballmer’s era. With Steve Ballmer on top, the company was cocky and unwilling to recognize how the competitors are catching up in a fast changing landscape.
Today’s market share, a harsh truth for participants at Windows Partner Conference
Right now, according to Turner, Microsoft has a market share of only 14 percent, including the mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. A drastic shift from a 90 percent market share just a short while ago. But things are changing at a fast pace and, finally, Microsoft is willing to openly admit it. The company announced in April it will give up the royalties for Windows installed on devices with under 9 inches displays. It was a major change in the philosophy as well as a potential hit for Android’s market share in tablets, phablets and smartphones.
Trying to catch up and surpass the competitors in the same time is what Microsoft is all about now. Microsoft Azure, the cloud computing service is facing strong competitors such as IBM’s SoftLayer, who launched new cloud features today, and Amazon Web Services, besides Google Drive and Dropbox.
The Ballmer era had rich results like Windows 7, but it was spiced as well with poor outcomes such as Windows Vista. A major shift in Microsoft’s vision is the openly admitted failure of maintaining a dominant market share. Now, Microsoft launches products which are highly interoperable with the competition’s OS. “We want our services pre-installed on any device from any ecosystem. We want to be the best solution for the dual user, at work and in life,” Turner declared.
In the smartphone category, Microsoft is still trying to squeeze the juice from Nokia after April’s final acquisition step. Right now, Windows Phone captured only a shamefully low market share, compared to the company’s success for desktop computing. The Internet of Things market is where Microsoft aims to be a big player as well. Indeed, the “challenger mindset” presented at the Windows Partner Conference seems to be an appropriate description for the company’s plans.
