As a whole, the technology press has started to pick up on the idea that Microsoft is back on the right path under Satya Nadella, deciding that buying up popular mobile apps and focusing less heavily on Windows, and more on integration with outside platforms and the cloud, is a path to success.
While it is almost certainly too early to tell, and many things could still go wrong during Nadella's stewardship, the company is certainly on a far straighter path than it has been in previous years, accepting its place in the technology universe and returning to its position as one of the most innovative companies in the world, rubbing shoulders with Apple, Google, Amazon and a whole host of startups.
No time to rest
But it would be foolish for Microsoft to rest upon laurels that are not quite fully formed yet. Profits, while impressive – $7.8 billion (around £5 billion, AU$10 billion) in the last quarter – are nowhere near Apple's $18 billion (around £11.7 billion, AU$23 billion), and its hardware divisions, besides Xbox, are not up to much (in Q4 2014 Microsoft shipped 10 million Lumia handsets while Apple shifted 74 million iPhones), highlighting areas that could use some major growth and are seriously lagging behind competitors.
Windows Phone is also lagging behind the competition, although the solution to this seems to be to roll it into Windows 10, as Microsoft is planning later on in 2015.
The forward movement of Microsoft has been very obvious lately, as the company picks up momentum in light of positive press coverage and a renewed sense of purpose away from the failures of what can be described as 'old Microsoft', which missed mobile, tablets and (almost) wearables – although the verdict is still out on how large that market is going to be.
Of course, there are some strategies that result in guaranteed growth, one of which is acquisitions of pre-existing companies, predominantly startups, that offer a service that Microsoft either doesn't have, or can complement.
So with that in mind, we offer up the following suggested targets for Redmond's coffers…
Evernote
While Satya Nadella has made it clear that Microsoft will be taking a new strategic path going forward there will still be a focus – a large one at that – on Microsoft Office, the bread and butter of Windows and the product that keeps businesses coming back for more.
For many years under Steve Ballmer, Office was the software that made customers stick to Windows, especially when the landscape shifted to mobile and Microsoft's presence was reduced to less than 5% of the mobile landscape, and so Office held maximum importance within the company.
While Microsoft was working on Office, Evernote was working on the next-generation of note taking app, building it for multi-platform work that included mobile. By using the cloud and Apple's new iOS SDK – Evernote has been around since 2008 – the team has created one of the best ways to take notes on any device and sync them up between all devices. But the functionality doesn't stop there: Nicholas Carlson wrote his book 'Marissa Mayer and the Fight to Save Yahoo!' using Evernote, collating all of his notes and audio clips into a 368 page novel.
The Evernote team's expertise at creating applications for all devices that sync well with the cloud would be a powerful asset for Microsoft's Office team, enabling the expansion of Office 365 – a service which came out in 2011, three years after Evernote – and the simplification of the office productivity market, which is already highly diverse.
Xamarin
In the "post-PC" era Microsoft has had an interesting relationship with developers. Before the advent of the iPhone, developing software was essentially all conducted on, and for, Microsoft platforms. Redmond essentially owned the PC market – or at least 95% of it – and it didn't make sense to waste time on any other platforms.
Now, however, the story is very different: iOS and Android control 90% of the smartphone market where the renaissance in app development is occurring. The so-called "app economy" that is occurring in Silicon Valley is based around devices produced by Apple and software made by Google instead of Microsoft, and there is a feeling that this must change.
Xamarin, developed by a group of software engineers in San Francisco, enables developers to write one set of code (in C#) to be used on iOS, Android and Windows without having to laboriously work to port apps over to other platforms. Essentially, it levels the playing field for Windows as developers can easily transfer their apps from iOS and Android.
Having collectively raised $82 million (around £53 million, AU$105 million) over three rounds of funding, Xamarin isn't going to be cheap but Microsoft has deep pockets – a war chest of $50 billion (around £32 billion, AU$64 billion) or more at the last count – and raising the app game of Windows 10, especially on mobile, should be a priority. And that's something this acquisition could offer.
Sonos
While music may seems to be the domain of Apple, the Internet of Things – essentially the idea that all of our appliances will be connected to the internet and controllable via an app – is still very much up for debate, and Sonos has been pioneering wireless control of speakers since 2002.
Microsoft already has a system in the living room in the shape of the Xbox and buying up Sonos could lead to many more and, most importantly, offers an easy path to expand beyond the TV and further into the home. The Microsoft HoloLens, which was shown off at the recent Windows 10 event, could also be integrated to offer a truly immersive film viewing experience, with the movie provided by the Xbox and streamed to the Lens, and the sound, provided by Sonos, filling the room.
Strategically, Microsoft will be looking to expand into many new areas – as the purchase of Mojang, the creators of Minecraft, shows – and music is an unexplored area since the failed Zune project. Over nine funding rounds, Sonos has received almost half a billion dollars but in a world where social networks such as WhatsApp are sold for $21 billion (around £13.6 billion, AU$27 billion), Microsoft could get a good deal.
Netflix
This purchase is a moonshot and would likely never be approved by either board, not to mention the fact that Netflix's market cap sits at $29 billion (around £18.8 billion, AU$37 billion). Nevertheless, Microsoft's content ambitions, highlighted by Xbox and Minecraft, could well be complemented by the addition of Netflix to its stable.
Already a profitable company, Netflix is available on Xbox and Windows 10 and could work wonders for the HoloLens, projecting the film onto a wall without needing pricey projector equipment. Netflix Original series, such as 'Orange is the New Black' and 'House of Cards' have won critical acclaim, beating out rival Amazon, and the injection of this talent into Microsoft – which has primarily concerned itself with the creation of video games, such as the Halo series – would expand the company's outlook into new areas.
Foursquare
In recent years there has been much conjecture about Foursquare, the New York-based startup that allows you to tell your friends where you are by "checking in" at a location. Microsoft's Cortana personal assistant relies heavily on Foursquare integration, just as Apple's Siri does with Yelp, but there is a lack of control and ownership that could stop Cortana from progressing.
Having received $160 million (around £103 million, AU$205 million) in funding, Foursquare is unlikely to be cheap but the data that it could provide to both Bing Maps and Cortana is essential, and Satya Nadella's Microsoft is far bolder than it has previously been.
Besides simply providing data, acquiring Foursquare will also give Microsoft a place on many people's iPhones or Android devices, similar to Facebook acquiring Instagram and WhatsApp. This new spot on the home screen could be leveraged in many ways, allowing Microsoft another chance at becoming relevant with consumers again.
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