Cloud Computing Assistant Microsoft transformation seeks new Fulcrum

Windows 8 has been launched for six months, and there has been a lot of criticism about the product that makes Microsoft feel "excited". Some think it has changed too much, leaving consumers at a loss; others accuse it of failing to save the global PC slump. Microsoft released its Windows 8 authorized sales of 100 million copies on May 7, roughly equivalent to the six months after Windows 7 was launched. Also, in the first quarter of this year, where PC sales fell 14% per cent year-on-year, Microsoft reported a year-on-year increase in revenue and net profits of 18% and 18.5% per cent, respectively.

"Microsoft has been around for more than 37 years and has been in the form of software companies in the early days." Kevin Tena reporters that Microsoft still attaches great importance to the software sector, but at the same time is ready to transform into "equipment + services" Company.

The earliest elaboration of the transition was last October, when Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said in a letter to shareholders that equipment and services would be the direction of Microsoft's future development.

In this direction, Microsoft launched a dazzling new product last year. In Kevin Tena's words, 2012 was the biggest year in the history of Microsoft's new product and service launch. Among the most appealing are Windows8, Windows Phone8, new Office, office365, and surface tablets that mark their massive entry into the hardware world.

Microsoft through surface into the hardware field, has made many PC manufacturers shocked. In the same battle with Microsoft in the tablet market, individual PC makers have even released a "rethink of working with Microsoft," saying the move will have a negative impact on the entire PC's hardware ecosystem.

Microsoft's first explanation for this was that it needed to build a hardware benchmark for the newly released operating system through surface. In the interview, Kevin Tena to the reporter expressed Microsoft's attention to the ecosystem: "Microsoft's transformation, not that we want to produce all the equipment." "Microsoft needs to be well supported by OEM partners and other ecosystems," Kevin Tena said.

However, Kevin Tena also expressed Microsoft's determination to enter the hardware, "Microsoft to benefit from the current development of smart devices and cloud services."

The Microsoft Surface tablet, which has RT and pro two versions based on the different on-board chips, may be lower than expected for surface RT sales in advance. Microsoft has not released surface sales, and US market research firm Isuppli said at the end of January that Microsoft's surface RT tablet was selling well below 1 million units. Surface Pro, which carries Intel's chips, avoids the use of the RT version and has more room to grow in sales, but the price will be a big constraint if placed in the ipad-led tablet market.

In fact, the launch of surface is not the first time Microsoft has been involved in hardware. In the current Microsoft revenue structure, in addition to the Windows operating system and Office series software, from its servers and Xbox gaming machine revenue also accounted for a large proportion. Taking Microsoft's data for the quarter of March 31 this year, the revenue for its server business is $5.039 billion, and the Xbox department has a revenue of $2.531 billion, which accounts for 25% and 12% of total revenue.

"According to the Microsoft Xbox game development experience, Microsoft's hardware strategy is to quickly iterate." "A person familiar with Microsoft believes that there are many flaws in the beginning, but Microsoft will continue to improve, the next generation of products, and through the scale effect of the continuous reduction of costs and prices." In fact, the Xbox, which was not favoured at the time, has already made a big competitive substitute for Nintendo and Sony's gaming machine business. "Microsoft's surface can also take this route." "The person said.

At present, the industry has been guessing Microsoft small size surface release time. In this respect, Kevin Tena said that Microsoft has not announced any of this, "but our research and development laboratory is developing a very good product."

"If the new product created by Microsoft last year has a history, we will have more and better innovative products in the next 12 months," he said. "This is the innovation cycle of Microsoft," Kevin Tena said. ”

In addition to using surface to kill into terminal devices, Microsoft is constantly seeking to provide services to users through cloud services. For example, in Windows operating system software, Microsoft has launched Windows Azure; Microsoft has new Office 365 services on Office software, and Windows Server 2012 on the server operating system. "The world is awakening and constantly aware of the importance of cloud services." Kevin Tena says Microsoft's cloud services are growing at a pace that Microsoft has not been able to develop before.

Kevin Tena told reporters that Microsoft's previous core was software, and now Microsoft needs to find opportunities to use its software more widely, including in a wide range of end products, covering a broad market of business users and consumer users, as well as through traditional software licensing and cloud services.

To a certain extent, whether it's a device or a service, Microsoft's core is to apply its core products to the new platform, especially in the way of cloud computing, in the mobile internet to find the fulcrum.

One industry source said that Microsoft is still a company benefiting from traditional PCs, although revenue and net profits are good, but in the fast-growing tablet and smartphone market, the outside world for its growth expectations before, Microsoft needs to change people's views. At the same time, the profit model that Microsoft specializes in selling Windows and Office software in the software age has been challenged by other vendors ' cloud service models, and rivals such as Google have even provided software services in a free way.