Posted on 07/28/2010 10:40:49 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
It's easy to bash Microsoft.
From its CEO, to its massively popular operating system, the company does not exude the cool, hip style of Apple. Nor does it exude the wide-eyed optimism or Google.
For these reasons, and others, Microsoft is regularly bashed by the tech-set who drool over Apple and Google.
It's not just the tech scene. Wall Street is cool to Microsoft. After crushing earnings, Microsoft's stock is underperforming the market.
Well instead of piling on, we're going the other way. Of all the major tech companies out there, Microsoft is one of the most successfully diversified, exciting companies going.
It has two major cash cows, but it's also grown 8 billion dollar businesses in the last decade. Does anyone think Google, or even Apple, could do that?
(Excerpt) Read more at businessinsider.com ...
As the need for an OS disappears into the sunset .......
How many people say I have to sit down at Windows and get some work done, vs how many say I wonder how quick the browser loads.
Windows XP is still a great OS, and I hear Win7 is even better than XP, so that is my praise for MS.
That’s all I got.
THE REASONS :
1) The servers and tools division is now a $15 billion business
All the attention on Microsoft is focused on its two big cash cows, Windows and Office, but its servers and tools business is also impressive. For the 2010 fiscal year the division did $15 billion in sales and $5.5 billion in operating income. That’s just $3 billion less in revenue than Windows, and about half the operating income
2) It’s not just the server business, Microsoft has 11 billion dollar businesses
Here’s something very few companies can say. Microsoft has 11 billion dollar revenue business lines. Todd Bishop at TechFlash rounded them all up:
Windows
Office
Servers
Xbox
SQL Server
System Center
Unified Communications (Exchange)
SharePoint
Developer Tools (Visual Studio)
Dynamics (ERP & CRM)
Online Advertising (display & search)
3) Xbox and Xbox Live are a big money makers now
One current Microsoftie boasted about the success of Xbox Live to us. For the twelve months ended June 30, 2010, operating income in the Entertainment and Devices division, where Xbox resides, is $679 million. That’s really good. And it could get better. Microsoft’s Xbox Live sales probably topped $1 billion. And analysts think the Xbox motion system, Kinect could drum up $1 billion in sales.
Further, Xbox gives Microsoft entry to the living room. This is something Apple and Google have not yet pulled off. Google TV and Apple TV are attempts to crack the market.
4) Windows is expected to keep blowing the doors off
After Microsoft’s big earnings crush last week, Jefferies analyst Katherine Egbert called the company a buy and said she expects double digit growth for the Windows franchise for the next two years
5) Bing is making Google look bad
We think Bing is toast. We also think Microsoft needs to stop burning so much cash online. We don’t think Bing is going to take significant share from Google.
BUT! We think Bing has impressively forced Google’s hand repeatedly. The most embarrassingly obvious move was when Google added Bing-like backgrounds to its main Google.com search page. Google also quickly announced Twitter integration after Bing, and redesigned its layout to steal some flair from Bing, too.
6) Microsoft treats its employees amazingly
We asked one ex-Microsoftie what the company does well. Here’s the response. Treat this as an anecdote, since we didn’t bother getting Google to confirm or deny (assumed Google would deny):
“They do give employees great benefits. I know of a specific incident where some ex-MSFTs left MS to work at google Seattle and they complained to Eric Schmidt that Google’s benefits (real benefits like medical, dental, eye) were way behind MSFT. When Eric went back to look at the the cost of matching MSFT in Seattle, he decided against it since it would have increased their Seattle office insurance costs by $2 million. This is something that is much overlooked by the press. Google may give free lunches, but at MSFT, I never had to pay out of pocket for anything (medical, prescription, etc).”
7) Microsoft is loaded with really smart people and big talents
Any time we’ve talked to anyone about Microsoft inside, outside, former, or current, we’ve always heard the place is filled with smart, talented people. Some of them might be trapped due to the internal politics of the place, but it’s definitely a positive.
The company also makes training people a priority according to one ex-employee, and “They also allow employees to move around into different groups and they do not have that ‘engineer vs. the other employees’ mentality that Google has. “
8) Microsoft is about to get back into the phone business
Windows Phone 7 looks like it’s pretty good. Better than the iPhone? Better than Android? Early reviews say no and no. But, Microsoft’s phone is innovative, it’s not just a rip of the iOS format. And with Xbox Live, Office, and Zune integration, Microsoft could have a really neat all-in-one package on its hands that rivals Apple and Google.
The trick here is that Microsoft is playing comeback kid, and it’s not going to be a big cash cow because the price it can charge for its software is pretty low. So, it’s an exciting product, but it’s not clear how exciting a business it will be.
9) There’s 1.1 billion people using Microsoft products. That’s one in 6 people on this planet.
Microsoft apologists have lately tried to say that Microsoft is a great enterprise company, but not so much a consumer company. A Microsoft rep dismisses that. He points out Microsoft has over 1.1 billion Windows users which is more than Apple and Google combined. Not to mention there’s plenty of Xbox and Bing users.
10) Revenue is growing, profits are growing, and it has a pile of cash
Finally, the most impressive thing about Microsoft is its fortress of a balance sheet. Operating income is growing, revenue is growing, and then there’s its massive pile of cash
So, why is the stock stuck in neutral? And why does everyone want Ballmer canned?
Here’s the thing. We can talk about how many things Microsoft is doing right until we’re blue in the face. The problem is Microsoft is stuck in a cloudy position. And that’s giving the haters plenty of fuel:
In mobile, even if it’s successful, it will not generate big sales or profits.
Windows and Office are under attack from Google and Apple. They look like they’ll be fine for now, but in five years, who knows. That’s enough doubt to keep investors weary.
It insists on burning BILLIONS on a foolish pursuit of search that probably won’t ever pay off.
The company has over-hired. There’s no reason to have 90,000+ employees. It’s clogging up the works.
Ballmer has put the wrong people in charge of divisions, says an ex-Microsoftie.
A lot of the hatred towards MS is based on class envy and successful corporation hatred that our media so much loves to nurture.
Qoted without comment...
The servers and tools division is now a $15 billion business
It’s not just the server business, Microsoft has 11 billion dollar businesses
Xbox and Xbox Live are a big money makers now
Windows is expected to keep blowing the doors off
Bing is making Google look bad
Microsoft treats its employees amazingly
Microsoft is loaded with really smart people and big talents
Microsoft is about to get back into the phone business
Revenue is growing, profits are growing, and it has a pile of cash
How many people EVER said they needed to sit down at Windows to get work done? That’s just not how people talk. And don’t believe the myth that the need for an OS is disappearing, the cloud ain’t all it’s cracked up to be, and you still need something to connect the browser to the hardware, you might not NOTICE the OS but it’s there.
Bill Gates should be in prison for the rest of his life and all of his wealth redistributed to all of us schmucks who have bought his products.
You summed it up perfectly. Microsoft runs as a business should run, not as a philanthropic institution (go figure, Bill Gates runs one of his own full time) and is a success. They’ve succeeded in creating software that computer illiterates like me can use with no problems and has succeed in providing billions of jobs for people with a fat salary and benefits.
It helps people in the politically incorrect way. It helps people who wish to help themselves. People who work hard, get good job skills, and contribute.
Yes that is true, hatred for MS from those that were put out of business by their predation — but for me it is not necessary to lug around either the cost nor the lack of performance as more devices get weaker and smaller. You pay for all the unused capability.
These days email and browser do most of what many need. The only application left that I use that needs more is Quicken, but even they are going online.
And this is where google is headed with their chrome OS.
Even HP is switching to Palm for their nettops and tablet OS.
And then there is free Linux like Ubuntu 10.4 if you really need a full featured OS. But to most it’s just an encumbrance.
Diehard MS user here. Loved XP Pro, and now I'm using Windows 7. So far, so good. Working in media & graphic design, there's been nothing I can't do that my brother in law with his Apple. Course, he gets to pay a lot more for repairs. Plus, it's nice knowing I can write my own applications and not have to bow before the Apple gods to deem them relevant.
I think my tagline says it best.
Hey, any company that could produce a Zune can’t be all bad.
;)
It is undeniable that most people just use the browser and email for daily work. And that is all the support from the “OS” they need, the rest of the crap just gets in the way. As more of the smart phones get sold, does anybody know what they are running under the hood anymore? And when does the smart phone become the computer? Soon methinks. And who wants to burden their smart phone with windows ....
So far MS has been able to fool people into thinking they need Windows, but they really don’t. When HP ships their pads and net-tops with Palm software on-board, the end will begin.
It’s not a myth, nobody needs an OS anymore. They want to do something.
Didn’t the feds just sign up for the cloud that no one uses?
I never “bash” MicroSoft. But I still prefer to use Linux.
Built my first PC in 1982. Ran TRSDOS, NEWDOS80, MSDOS, Windows 3.0, 95, 98 and XP. Spent many years using IBM AS400’s.
Put together my first Linux box about 15 years ago. First version was a UMSDOS version of Slackware. Then my first GUI Linux was running Redhat 5.0, then Mandrake and other distributions. Found them all, stable, secure, and efficient. They are more simple because of the lack of need for licensing control software.
There are still a few places that lack comparable Linux apps. Mostly CAD and Publishing programs. Otherwise I would never boot anything except Linux.
And I am not a Leftie by any measure. I simply like efficiency. I love XFCE GUI.
“No I bash them because their OS has more security holes than a colander.”
Misconception, a properly patch XP or Win 7 box is actually a very secure computer.
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