Microsoft of the Last Emperor: "Move Style" with PC yoke

According to foreign media reports, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer is planning a restructuring of Microsoft to better compete with Google and Apple.

The background of this reorganization is the "irrelevance" of Microsoft's role in the mobile end. The reason, perhaps in essence, is that Microsoft is "moving Dance" in PC chains, and Microsoft, a challenger on the mobile side, is still hard to put down.

Reporters note that Microsoft has become a mobile end of the supporting role. In the 2013, Microsoft was either upgraded by a supporting role or was further reduced. But the industry's competitive ecology leaves Microsoft with little time to splurge, and Microsoft has to race against time.

Microsoft's Predicament:

It entrepreneur story explains Microsoft's role

In the global mobile ecosystem, there are only two real big guys: Google's Android and Apple's iOS. As Zhang, 3G portal president, says, two big guys will dominate the mobile internet for a long time. And in the mobile eco-chain of the most core operating system links, left behind the living space, has been negligible.

It is noteworthy that in Zhang's "slim" opportunity, the PC end of Microsoft unwilling to move to the end of a supporting role, last October, Microsoft with WP8 again Mobile Lake. At the moment, however, Microsoft is playing a "supporting Actor" in the crossfire of Google and Apple's two-strong bosses.

Entrepreneurs have no choice wp/

It entrepreneur Wang Zhixiang's entrepreneurial story is a good illustration of Microsoft's role playing at the mobile end.

Wang Zhixiang is the founder of "You Listen" based on social scene music sharing app apps. In the 2011, with the advent of the traditional music industry being subverted by the electronic music market and mobile apps driven by smartphones, Wang Zhixiang saw an entrepreneurial opportunity to change music on the Internet, and at the end of 2011, Wang Zhixiang's app team gathered 20 people, including former Microsoft MVP engineers, Well-known Internet application team product manager and other backbone.

After the team set up, the development of products and the search for products corresponding to the mobile platform, has become the most important work. For the preferred iOS platform, Wang Zhixiang has its own considerations: the number of users on the iOS platform is large, and Apple products are positioned at the high-end, so the user is of high quality. In addition, the iOS platform is a closed, unified platform, compared to the Android platform, operating on the Platform app application, its use experience more effective, and the cost of capital and time is lower. So the preferred Apple iOS platform is the idea of many mobile developers.

League statistics and analysis data show that by the end of 2012, the domestic Apple iOS system active users reached 85 million, Google Android active users up to 160 million. It is noteworthy that in this statistical data, WP platform active users due to the small amount of statistics.

And so far, Wang Zhixiang has only chosen Apple's iOS platform and Google's Android platform. For the reason of this choice, Wang Zhixiang explained that for mobile app entrepreneurs, the number of platform users, quality and input-output time ratio are the three key factors to measure the performance of the platform. He says the number of users on the Android platform and the high quality of the iOS platform are the advantages of the two mobile platforms. And Microsoft's WP platform at present a small number of users, the quality is not verified.

It is noteworthy that the current installation of WP system mobile device manufacturers basically to Nokia and other as the representative of the second camp, and Samsung and other front-line manufacturers, although also has become Microsoft's partner, but its focus is still on the Android platform. WP platform hardware partners of the Non-mainstream, resulting in the number and quality of its users are "Non-mainstream."

PC thinking of Microsoft WP Platform

Industry believes that WP platform basically inherited Microsoft "PC thinking overweight, mobile gene deficiency" characteristics, such as the iOS platform 3D game technology, in the WP platform running not fluent, and users use a lot of micro-letter, in the WP platform, which many functions and can not be used normally.

It commentators Sun Yongjie that Microsoft is trying to put its influence on the PC mobile operating system to the mobile end, which is why it is developing mobile operating systems in PC thinking. Microsoft should change the technology concept in the architecture design of mobile operating system.

Reporter found that Microsoft WP platform not only at the technical level of "PC thinking", in the ecological construction of the same.

The most typical example is that Microsoft has ported the PC-side "licensing fee thinking" to the mobile end.

To this, Wang Zhixiang extremely do not understand: "Development WP platform application, Microsoft also charge authorization fee." For developers, it is better to choose a different platform, and then let this amount of money to the distributor and other partners. ”

And the WP platform localization is not enough, also become a hindrance to some application developers to the ecological system to take root.

"WP platform account registration is very restrictive." Its restrictive factors have also increased the development barriers to developers to some extent.

Reporter in the interview learned that at present to Wang Zhixiang as the representative of the application of open developers, most people still look at the state of mind in the view of WP platform, and some have been exploring the application of WP platform developers, its input and output ratio is not high, the basic role of "Business supplement."

According to a statistic from an AI media consultancy, Chinese mobile app developers are most concerned about the platform's market prospects and the profitability of the platform, with a 68.6%-56% per cent interest, respectively. It's clear that the WP platform, which is still stuck between Apple's iOS platform and Google's Android platform, has no advantage in both respects.

At this point, in front of Apple and Google two main characters, Microsoft's WP platform into a deadlock to be solved: WP equipment sales small, resulting in difficulties to attract developers. The use of small, will further reduce the attractiveness of users, resulting in sales blocked. According to a recent statistic, the number of apps on Apple's App store has reached 850,000, and Google's GooglePlay has more than 700,000 apps, and Microsoft Wpstore is less than 150,000.

Microsoft Road:

PC big guy moving end supporting

Today's Microsoft, in the mobile internet era, has been completely reduced to Google and Apple side of the supporting role. As Cody Villard, a MarketWatch contributor to the US financial site, said: "Microsoft was once an unattainable leader in valuations, but the question now is whether Facebook, Amazon or other technology companies will be the next company to surpass Microsoft's market capitalisation." ”

It is noteworthy that, as the PC-side of the boss, whether in the tablet computer layout or mobile operating system, have had an earlier strategic card position, but because there is no courage to revolution and mistakes to change the opportunity.

Already aware of the advent of the age of migration

Take the tablet computer, one of the two strategic products moving at the current end. Perhaps a lot of people do not know, in 1999, Gates has said that the time has come to launch the tablet computer, and in 2000 Las Vegas held a computer exhibition, to show the blueprint of Microsoft's tablet computer.

Then in 2005, Gates said in an interview: "Mobile phones will replace digital music players, including ipods, as mainstream products." ”

In other words, the Microsoft executive at the time was aware of the coming of the mobile internet era. At that time, in the mobile phone and tablet computer Two mobile end of the strategic breakthrough products, Microsoft chose the tablet computer as the focus of the breakthrough direction, the strategy continues to this day.

In an interview with the Daily Economic news reporter, Jiang Hongjun, author of the Microsoft Dynasty crisis, said the IT technology trained gates, who had predicted the latest wave of revolutions in the IT industry, was choosing to use tablets as a breakthrough, mainly based on "relevance options", after all, the tablet computer is still a computer category, Within Microsoft, the tablet computer has been used as a "PC" in PC thinking rather than as a revolutionary product.

Tablet's death was largely due to the company's illness in Microsoft. Based on the supremacy of the PC side, leading to Microsoft's innovation and can-do in the decline, the tablet only as a "PC" mode to operate, so as the company's Non-core business of the tablet computer, within Microsoft suffered "crowding out", the strategic, technical and financial support is not strong.

After Gates retired, his tablet computer was not approved by his successor, Ballmer, and disappeared inside Microsoft.

In contrast to Microsoft's PC-thinking Tablet PC, later Apple in 2010 launched the ipad with mobile internet thinking and successfully staged a comeback to become the king of the Tablet world. More notably, Apple has taken the ipad personally and has become the new king, while Microsoft, the Apple's former PC competitor, is still swimming in the PC pool.

Losing out on the mobile OS

Tablet computers so, in the mobile operating system layout war, Microsoft also "get up early and catch a late set." In 2003, Microsoft released a mobile operating system windowsmobile for mobile devices, and windowsmobile nearly 35% per cent of the market before and after Apple launched its iphone.

However, 2007 years later, Apple to the iOS platform user experience and Google Android platform to free, open, double-sided, Microsoft in the mobile operating system status, from the protagonist to a supporting role.

Zhang, the founder of Ai, who lives in Guangdong, is one of the first insiders to touch the windowsmobile system's mobile phone. He told the Daily economic news reporter that after the iphone came out in 2007, the industry was comparing iOS operating systems with the windowsmobile system of mobile operating systems, and pointed out that Microsoft's mobile operating system was too bloated and innovative. But in the face of these criticisms, in the crisis of Microsoft, its boss mentality does not change, still a pair of not care about the appearance.

"The lack of a keyboard configuration is a potential flaw in Apple's iphone, and will show that the iphone has no access to any significant market share," Mr. Ballmer told the US today. The arrogance of Microsoft as an IT boss is evident.

Reporter in the interview, Shenzhen a A-share listed company background of the smartphone manufacturer said that year, a mobile phone to pay the windowsmobile licensing costs as much as 30 U.S. dollars, which makes a large number of small-scale mobile phone manufacturers, "a long time, in addition to Dopod, Lenovo, Amoi and so on, the domestic handset brand all abandons uses the WindowsMobile, chooses authorizes the lower wince system, but this kind of system is not compatible with the WindowsMobile third party software, thus exacerbated the Microsoft mobile phone ecology the chaos Elephant. ”

In the 2010, many mobile phone companies turned to Android platforms, with Google's Android operating system's licensing fee-free push. According to the above-mentioned person in charge, the windowsmobile on the CPU, memory and other configuration of high requirements brought about by the costs and licensing costs, domestic mobile phone companies to produce a single cell phone cost can save the maximum of nearly 800 yuan.

Based on economic considerations, by the beginning of 2011, Samsung, LG, Sony Ericsson and other manufacturers using the WindowsMobile system to run their cutting-edge smart phones to try to use the Android phone operating system, Motorola completely abandoned windowsmobile in 2010 and turned to Android. In October 2010, Microsoft replaced WindowsMobile with WP system in the process of the relevant disjointed issues, and further exacerbated Microsoft's mobile operating system in the losing momentum.

Microsoft's Confusion:

Moving end breakout: Hard to shed pc complex

In the mobile internet era, Microsoft was unwilling to sink, so last October 26 launched the WIN8 operating system, to compatible with the mobile terminal thinking of the main "multiple screen integration" brand.

The WIN8 operating system was described by Ballmer as the most dangerous bet ever made by Microsoft. In early May, however, Microsoft acknowledged to the FT that Win8 had failed.

To implement this "somewhat radical" program on the mobile side, Microsoft has launched its own flat-panel brand surface to help push Microsoft into the tablet sector, but the results have been minimal.

The origin of WIN8 and surface failure

The reporter found in the investigation, Win8 's loneliness, the reason is complex, however, Microsoft's success in the PC side, resulting in the "success of the burden", such as PC thinking overweight, the transformation of the tangle and other factors, is a Microsoft transformation process can not be overlooked one of the obstacles, this from the Win8 positioning on the blurred and struggle can be

Microsoft sees Apple's iOS, Google's Android as Win8 's main competitor in the mobile sector.

At the beginning of Win8 's release, Ballmer was ambitious. He predicts that sales of Tablet PCs will grow to 320 million in 2015, with Win8 gaining nearly a 12% of the market share, or about 38.4 million, at a time when market share is essentially zero.

But in the tablet sector, which is dominated by the ipad, Microsoft has been seen as "passable" by the market, although it has not publicly surface sales.

"The Daily economic news" reporter in communication with Microsoft China, the other side of the surface sales problem, replied: "Surface integration of the best PC and tablet computer experience." It will land more countries and regions and meet consumers through more retail outlets, which will be more appropriate when discussing sales. However, the person is not clear "then" the specific time node corresponding.

The two-surface version, Surfacert and Surfacepro, has sold only 1 million units and 400,000 units, totaling 1.4 million units, according to a Bloomberg report in mid-March. In contrast to this data, IDC has predicted that 2013 global Tablet PC shipments will reach 191 million units, up from 2012 growth of 50%. In a year of nearly 200 million market capacity, Microsoft Surface tablet computer since its launch last June, the total sales volume of less than 1.5 million units, almost negligible.

For Microsoft to have a second hit in the tablet sector, "Microsoft has opted for a tablet market that promotes WIN8 competition and the least understanding of Microsoft's brand," says Sun Yongjie, an IT commentator, "enough to show that Microsoft is eager to use a tablet to weaken or change Microsoft's strong PC tag."

Paradoxically, however, Microsoft has a strong PC taste for the positioning of its tablet computer to downplay its PC tags.

April 2, Microsoft new Surfacepro tablet computer officially on sale in mainland China, its higher than other brands of tablets or ultra-book, notebook prices, so many people deterred. If the user wants to achieve the complete surfacepro experience, must pay at least 7500 yuan.

The Surfacepro pricing of tablet products, which play the role of challenger in the tablet sector, has been a subject of discussion in the industry.

It is noteworthy that this is the controversial price, the Microsoft side of the Surfacepro qualitative explanation. In the view of Microsoft Surface Global PR director Benreed, Surfacepro is a PC product with a flat-panel experience, with better flexibility than any other notebook or ultra-extreme, so "we think the existing pricing is competitive." ”

Panospanay, the head of Microsoft's surface department, echoed: "Surfacert was designed as a tablet computer." Because of the appearance of factors, people may confuse them, Surfacepro is often considered a heavier and endurance of the lack of the tablet, but please know that we are designed a PC. ”

Whether it is Microsoft Surface Global PR director Benreed or Microsoft Surface Department head Panospanay, in the interpretation of the Surfacepro is defined as a PC, not a tablet, but it is undeniable that the surface has been Microsoft's tablet computer brand.

Microsoft hard to shed "PC complex"

In fact, the reporter noted that Microsoft in the operation of the tablet computer, has been difficult to shed the "PC complex", even Microsoft founder Gates is no exception.

"Microsoft will gain market share in the ipad's dominant tablet market, while many users are frustrated with the ipad because they can't type with the keyboard, can't create documents, and the ipad doesn't even have office," Gates said in an interview with CNBC recently. and the Microsoft Surface tablet can offer the ipad to give up and users expect PC apps. ”

In other words, in Gates ' eyes, the biggest differentiator between the Surface tablet and the ipad is PC apps.

An industry insider, who declined to be named, said as for the mobile interconnection concept of the tablet, "PC" Microsoft is still a PC thinking to locate, but the tablet as another non-desktop PC, and Apple in the ipad positioning, with a kind of discard PC, completely in the mobile internet thinking to set the tone.

In fact, in the current line of consumption habits, PCs are the platform for production and processing of content, and tablets are a platform for consuming content, such as playing games, sending and receiving emails, watching videos, the people said. But Microsoft is using PC thinking to define tablets, and is also marketing tablets on the platform of production content.

It is based on PC thinking that unlike Apple, Google and other rivals to build a mobile internet business model with completely non-PC thinking, Microsoft is using the mobile Internet as an extension of the desktop Internet in terms of defining tablets and creating business models, so Win8 the "desktop + moving End" blending mode, It's not surprising.

In fact, the reporter found in the survey, the weakness of the PC, mobile end of the rise of the background, the PC giants in the breakout, the general fall into neither want to lose the supply of current cash flow of the PC site, and to attack represents the future of the mobile end, so the tradeoff, the cross-border hybrid mode has become their usual choice, Microsoft is not a case.

At the current Computex2013 Taipei computer Show, PC bosses like Intel, Lenovo, Hewlett-Packard, Dell, Acer and ASUS are trying to rescue themselves with hybrid devices based on PC thinking.

In fact, a long time ago, Microsoft and Intel's PC duo to the "PC tablet" concept to push the "ultra-extreme", hoping to use this product to challenge the Apple MacBook and the ipad.

Former Yahoo China president Xie to the daily economic news reporter to analyze similar PC giants in the transformation of the common phenomenon. Xie pointed out that for the PC giants, with the advent of industry change, the success rate of transformation is difficult to guarantee. So strategically speaking, in the actual transition, hope that while the PC market, while moving some, this is a transitional attempt, this hybrid model can not be successful is hard to say, at least so far has not been proved by the market, financially speaking, for these PC giants are basically listed companies, Management faces medium-and short-term earnings pressures, and the PC side is their cash flow provider, the mobile end is the business of smashing money, so it is hard to break the wrist like an apple, and the hybrid model based on the PC is a more secure way to try, less risky; From the corporate gene perspective, like these PC giants, In the transformation are more or less encounter the problem of large companies, that is, the company's decision-making thinking, market feedback mechanism, staffing and so on, all with a deep PC culture, so the mixed model to try to transform, it is normal.

As Xie said, Microsoft's hybrid model to break through the way, has not yet been proved by the market, but Win8 and play to promote the role of WIN8 Surface tablet computer desolate, has become a brutal reality.

(Responsible editor: Lu Guang)