Wake up Call

I have received a good deal of criticism for suggesting that Microsoft is under any pressure in its core competencies and specifically in relation to Cloud Computing.

Well, you only have to look at the latest Gartner figures on the PC market to see what I mean. The overall sales of PCs in Western Europe fell by 19% in the second quarter of 2011 - on the back a similar sized drop the previous quarter. The mobile PC market fell 20% while desktops fell 15% and mini-netbooks fell by a massive 53%.

The demand was weak in both consumer and professional sectors and the much vaunted migration to Windows 7 is taking place against a dramatically falling market and is simply not occurring at anything like anticipated levels in the professional sector.

While last year's graphs look good for Microsoft, they have been bushwhacked in the mobile market by Google's acquisition of Motorola Mobility against their, as yet unrealised, partnership with the declining Nokia whose share of the Smartphone market is pitiful and falling. The tablet market is set to pass them by where Apple and Google already have a stranglehold on the operating systems in both tablet and Smartphone, effectively side-lining Microsoft and RIM.

The squeeze is on. Tablets are taking a big slice of the mobile computing market and that's an area Microsoft are way behind in. As Google challenges hard on Cloud based productivity software for the office, Microsoft is now being hit hard in its heartland as Google and Apple become stronger in both consumer and professional sectors.

These figures are a huge wake up call. Whatever the internal slides are saying at Microsoft, they don't contain the worrying assessment that Gartner make: 'PCs are not attracting consumers' disposable income, particularly in light of alternative devices....there are few compelling technological reasons to drive PC replacements.'

Wake up and smell the coffee.


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