John Mullinax

http://blogs.msdn.com/johnmullinax

5 Comments

    • What (If Anything) Google Chrome Will Mean for Businesses [view article]
      More than anything else, Chrome strikes me as a "trojan horse" of sorts to get Google Gears installed on people's computers. Mozilla is already out there for users... the most notable thing about Chrome is that the download forces an install of the Google Gears software alongside the Mozilla/Gecko rendering engine.

      Why would Google do this? Because they realize that marrying installed desktop software and internet content could help them create new kinds of experiences to drive additional usage for their apps by consumers and possibly businesses. Ultimately, the goal is more revenue.

      What I find interesting is that this is a very similar to Adobe's vision for computing experiences, as AIR illustrates. At a high level, it's also similar to Microsoft's "Software-plus-Se... vision for computing, that basically says that the web platform and all the other software platforms should work well together.

      As a side note, it's interesting that Google is not just copying Microsoft's (and Adobe's) basic strategy here, they are actually copying specific IE features for Chrome... e.g., separate tabs in seperate processes, private browsing, phishing protection, etc. were released first as IE 8 features (or IE7 in the case of phishing protection).

      There are differences, of course, as Google and Microsoft are approaching a similar vision from very different places. Google has been a strong search provider, but may still be learning how to be a software company, with on-premise software products and a software ecosystem to support. Google's ability to execute their flavor of the deployed software + internet services strategy requires getting new apps built to meet all the various computing needs out there with a browser/Gears-based solution. A tall order that will take time - particularly if you think about the business computing market that Google hopes to break into.

      For it's part, Microsoft has a great deal of software deployed in the ecosystem, as well a a raft of internet services -- some strong and well-established, some still emerging. For example, think of Mesh and the Windows Live stuff like Messenger, identity, email, contacts, video streaming, etc.). Also, think of new rich, internet-connected smart client capabilities in .NET that lets businesses and partners create superior new experiences, and think of how Office suite itself has become an internet aware platform (one example: FedEx QuickShip lets you ship over the internet from Outlook). Finally, think about how Microsoft is providing choice of deployment models in some of it's "traditional"... software -- letting people choose on premise or cloud hosting (e.g, SharePoint Online, Exchange Online, CRM Online, for mid-market and larger businesses and Office Live for small businesses and individuals). So that's a lot of stuff... and that's the point: in its offerings for both consumers and businesses, Microsoft is combining the power of the internet with the capabilities of software, and doing it across many devices... and in some cases even across platforms.

      And very importantly, Microsoft is going down this path with an industry-leading respect for privacy that puts users in control of their data.

      So given the similarities in high level strategies, the interesting question isn't who's got the "right" uber-strategy, it's who can most effectively empower users across a broad range of computing needs (that today includes a range of legacy computing environments) with better experiences?

      For this reason, I think Chrome may actually help Microsoft. Although multiple companies share a vision for computing that includes the internet and deployed software working well together, it is a change in mindset for consumers and businesses alike. Google's efforts with Chrome should help educate the marketplace about the value of supplementing browser-only experiences with internet-connected software.

      That's good for Microsoft, because I believe their flavor of the "Software-plus-Se... vision is simultaneously the broadest and the also the most pragmatic/approachable for users who want better experiences.

      Disclosure: I work for Microsoft, but my opinions are my own.       Sep 03 11:50 AM
    • Why Is Google Entering the Browser Market? [view article]
      I expect former Firefox users to make up a big chunk of new Chrome users. Your point that Firefox is essentially a Google browser anyway is a good one.... Sep 02 09:19 AM
    • Apple, Microsoft Run for the Clouds in the New Client Software War [view article]
      Well, I think you've hit on some important things... especially, the growing importance of cloud services exchanging packets with many types of device end points... aka, the rise of the web platform.

      BUT: just because the web has evolved into an additional legitimate platform does not mean other existing platforms are no longer valuable. It DOES mean greater choice in how providers and consumers of services make tradeoffs between network depencies, reach, deployment, user experiences, etc.

      iTunes is indeed a great example of a rich user experience leveraging cloud services. Microsoft took a cue from iTunes, and in many respects outdid iTunes with the Zune PC software. We're a long way from a acceptable iTunes or Zune user experience that is browser-based.

      In addition to Apple, Google clearly gets this -- that's why they're investing in an application platform to make offline experiences possible. Adobe gets this -- that's why they want to compete in the application platform market with Adobe AIR. Certainly, Microsoft gets this -- just look at what they are doing on both the services front (Windows Live Platform, Office Live, SharePoint Online, etc.) and the software front with Silverlight for browsers (cross-platform), Silverlight mobile (cross-platform), and WPF (Windows-only browser and smart client apps), etc.

      So good job highlighting the importance of the cloud -- but rather than displacing everything else, much more likely that the cloud and all the platforms will keep getting better at working together.

      More here: blogs.msdn.com/johnmul... .

      Disclaimer: I work at Microsoft but my opinions are my own. :-)       Apr 02 03:07 PM
    • Microsoft Down Despite Analyst Enthusiasm [view article]
      Good roundup of analyst comments. Thanks. As one of the top R&D spenders in the world, Microsoft has a huge amount of innovation coming down the pipe. One of the biggest challenges for Microsoft is enterprises' ability to productively absorb this innovation. Some will do it well, some will do it poorly, and a few won't do it at all. Those businesses that manage to put to put Microsoft's innovation to good use have an opportunity to differentiate themselves from those who don't... but many will struggle to keep up with the blistering pace at which Microsoft is bringing new capabilities to market.

      Microsoft also has a hidden strength -- as the product portfolio broadens Microsoft is developing different kinds of relationships with the enterprises in the marketplace. Increasingly, Microsoft is not just a technology vendor, but a broad partner across in how enterprises serve their own customers and suppliers. If they can leverage the new relationships to drive greater technology adoption, then the future should be very bright for Microsoft. BTW, I blog at blogs.msdn.com/johnmul... .
      Jan 28 03:32 PM
    • Google vs. Microsoft: Blue/Red Ocean Earnings Productivity [view article]
      I get the idea that marginal costs should equal marginal revenues to maximize earnings. But it's not clear to me why you think the models can be safely extrapolated out so that additional spending will lead to additional revenues in a predictable way. Particularly in the Microsoft case -- where the model shows actual REP at -36%... I don't understand how you can be confident that additional spending would lead to known additional returns. More likely, I think Micorsoft is near a point of discontinuity -- meaning that significant additional spending would require evaluating Microsoft with a new model/algorythm to find theoretical optimium. I say this because Microsoft's has a couple of significant challenges: (1) Helping the marketplace digest the blistering pace of innovation coming out of Microsoft's enterprise software, mobile/embedded devices, consumer software, and online services groups. And (2) growing the organization without losing the ability to spend efficiently. It's even more complicated, because these challenges are inter-related in a number of complex ways. For more on these challenges, see here: blogs.msdn.com/johnmul....

      Oct 15 11:07 AM
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