Microsoft COO Paints Google as Evil Empire
Microsoft COO Kevin Turner this morning took aggressive shots at Apple, Oracle, Linux, VMware and Google — even painting Google as a Big Brother-type company that tries to say they’re not evil in their mission statement. During a keynote at Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference 2010 (WPC10), Turner described how Microsoft’s mobile, desktop and cloud strategy will allow the software giant to beat back top competitors. Turner also described market share gains against Apple, VMware and Google. Here’s a recap.
Turner attempted to provide a reality check on multiple competitive fronts. Among the highlights:
On the Cloud: “Get in and let’s figure this out together,” Turner told partners. “Do we have this completely figured out? No. Are we in better shape than a year ago? Absolutely.”
On Google Apps: “Don’t let customers get Googled,” said Turner. “They’re coming after us. Guns a blazing. They’ve won customers.” But Turner listed multiple customers that have tried Google Docs, Google Apps and Google Spreadsheets, and come back to Microsoft. “We don’t want some of them, we want all the customers to experience the best of breed applications” from Microsoft.
He noted the State of Kentucky has embraced Microsoft’s cloud for 700,000 seats. “We’re winning in education. And we’re staying after it. It will be a test of will. And we need your help.”
On Bing vs. Google Search: “We don’t read your email and invade your privacy,” said Turner. “We’re not snooping your WiFi. That’s not what we’re about. We don’t have a mission statement that reminds us not to do evil.”
Strong words. And ironic words. Some folks have called Microsoft the Evil Empire over the years. And well-known blogger Mary Jo Foley used to pen a Microsoft-focused column titled At the Evil Empire.
On Apple Notebooks: Thanks to Windows 7, Microsoft’s laptop share has risen to 92.8 percent vs. 7.2 percent for Apple, Turner claimed.
On the iPhone vs. Windows Phones: “This is a low-light for me,” conceded Turner. “In the October time frame, we’re back in this game and this game is not over. There are 200 [million] smart phones being sold right now. There will be 450 million in a few years, more than double the number of today.”
Turner says Windows Phone 7 will reboot Microsoft’s place in the smart phone market. And Microsoft is preparing a single, free development platform to allow partners to write applications across Windows Phone 7, Windows PCs and in-home consoles.
“You will be able to use Windows Phone 7 and not have to worry about how they hold it. It looks like iPhone 4 might be their [Apple’s] Vista. And I’m OK with that.”
On iPads vs. Windows Tablets: “The iPad is fabulous at consumption but lousy at content creation,” said Turner. “That’s a documented fact. Readers are at the far right, with the Kindles, etc. We believe there’s a sweet spot in the middle, between the PC and the readers.” Turner says this fall, Windows Tablets will generate strong momentum in that sweet spot market.
On VMware vs. Microsoft Hyper-V Virtualization: “What’s this VMware tax all about,” quipped Turner, describing VMware’s pricing. Turner says Microsoft commands 24.4 percent of the virtualization market, up about 6.1 points in recent monts. VMware stands at 48.8 percent. “We’re cross-platform. We run VMware,” said Turner. “They’re not cross-platform.”
On Linux: Turner mentioned Linux for 2 minutes or less, noting that Windows has made the highest market share gains in the history of the company.
On Oracle: Turner displayed quotes from multiple CIOs who claim they are locked in to expensive Oracle licensing agreements.
The Bottom Line
Turner seemed to connect with the audience, assuring them that Microsoft remains hungry on multiple fronts. In the weeks and months ahead, watch for Microsoft to get aggressive with facts, figures and statistics. Microsoft hopes those numbers — sales figures, market share gains, etc. — will help to sway media, public and business perceptions in its favor.
Turner’s efforts represented a strong first step today.
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Hey,
Can I run Windows 7 in 16 megs of ram? What’s that you say… 16 megs isn’t enough to load the icon cache? Oh dear, guess I’ll have to keep using Linux then 🙂
Is there a video stream of this keynote available anywhere? I’d like to hear the context and tone of these statements.
On the one hand, it is great to see Microsoft getting serious about the cloud when not to long ago they were treating it as a passing fad. If indeed they do demonstrate that they are serious about cloud I think that will heat up competition and accelerate the market which is almost always good for customers.
I don’t think all the attacks on their competitors are actually a winning strategy for them. The market is smart. It knows that they have not innovated in many years. That they have been riding the successes of the past and copying the best features of their competitors. Because of this the attacks sound desperate and are easily dismissed.
If they could focus on innovation they would have a chance at getting some momentum back. For them this is a catch 22 because most of the innovation happening currently undercuts their cash cows, Office and Windows. It seems hard for them to go “all in” and release new products that devalue their main profit centers but if they don’t do it, their competitors will.
My .2 for what its worth. 🙂 Thanks for all the coverage Joe. Much appreciated.
Daniel: Check http://www.digitalwpc.com — there might be a stream on that site. Microsoft has showed off quite a few innovations here, but mostly in the consumer market. And Microsoft deserves credit for positive buzz around Windows Azure… lots of strong partner endorsements here. The big wild card remains the fear factor: Can small VARs really, really profit from BPOS, or should those VARs get some app expertise and focus a bit on the Azure cloud?
Meeting with Microsoft Channel Chief Jon Roskill in a few minutes seeking answer to that BPOS/Azure partner profit question.
-TVG
Thanks for the link I will definitely check that out.
You make some points worth considering.
I had to chuckle though. When I went to http://www.digitalwpc.com I got a popup to update silverlight followed by a message that said that silverlight was incompatible with my browser of choice. In the age of cloud computing, the markets tolerance for proprietary plugins and lack of cross browser and os compatibility is at an end. I thought it was a funny anecdote considering the topic at hand. 🙂
Did he talk about the Kin and the image of Microsoft that the Kin’s utter failure projected?
Sorry, couldn’t help it 😉
ROFL. And everything to do with Windows Mobile going back to the pathetic Nino was like Microsoft’s Vista.
I somehow managed to get a phone number to Microsoft’s customer support service. I let the representative know how disappointed I was with the two different installed versions of Microsoft Vista. Of course he was sympathetic and offered to let me purchase Windows 7. Well I went one better and installed Linux on three laptops, one netbook, and all of our desktops. The only damn reason Microsoft has the stranglehold it has on desktops is the captive market they force the consumer into.
Apple is no rocket scientist in this department either. They could follow Microsoft’s business model, But Steve Jobs can’t grasp the concept of discounting his coveted version of an open source operating system.
I have used MS operating systems since the early days of PCDOS 1.0. I upgraded from CPM and thought Microsoft was pretty damn cool. Not so much any longer.
MSFT calling GOOG the Evil Empire? Just one word comes to mind — “O_o”
Daniel@3: Your point about Silverlight is well-taken. MSFT needs to support all browsers equally…
Simplicious@4: It’s been awhile since The VAR Guy heard from you. Thanks for reading. No mention of Kin…
Kevin@5: The VAR Guy abandoned smart phones with “start” icons about five years ago. But Windows Phone 7 sounds intriguing… And The VAR Guy concedes: His iPhone 3 is really slow and suffers from poor battery. Might be time for a change…
John@6: The VAR Guy respects Linux folks like you, but it still isn’t a “mainstream” solution, especially since Windows 7 is looking good. Also, no reason for Apple to change business model when profits are so strong…
Daeng@7: Curious to see where this MSFT-GOOG feud leads…
-TVG
The spin is a little shocking coming from MS. Look at what he is saying…
On the Cloud: “Get in and let’s figure this out together,”
In other words.. pay us to be on the bleeding edge. About version 3, it will be sorted.
On Google Apps: … “And we need your help.”
Sure does if MS are looking at swapping MS Office licenses worth hundreds for Google App level of fees. Education licenses for MS Office apps are already cheap, but any business comparing prices of their Exchange + Office vs cloud environments are going to be driving down costs.
On Bing vs. Google Search: “We don’t read your email and invade your privacy,”.
MS really don’t scan Hotmail or Messenger? The contextual ads on Facebook? Ballmer should be told as they want to compete with Google without snooping
“We’re not snooping your WiFi.
Nice hit..google should suck this one up.
“We don’t have a mission statement that reminds us not to do evil.”
Somehow that sort of irony doesn’t make me trust them…
On Apple Notebooks: “Thanks to Windows 7, Microsoft’s laptop share has risen to 92.8 percent vs. 7.2 percent for Apple”
I think that is thanks to cheap versions of _XP_, MS market-share on netbooks has risen greatly. MS may not have noticed, but Apple might have 7.2 of the market-share – the right end of the market apparently – in the $1K+ notebook market, about 90% share. (http://www.betanews.com/joewilcox/article/Apple-has-91-of-market-for-1000-PCs-says-NPD/1248313624). And Apple make serious profit on the hardware, whereas MS just sell lots of cheap copies of Win7.
“On the iPhone vs. Windows Phones”.
Yes, but its more a case of iPhone vs Android vs Blackberry/Symbian. After the Kin debacle, who knows if they can do phones.
“Turner says Windows Phone 7 will reboot Microsoft’s place in the smart phone market”
Maybe. But I wouldn’t assume it will happen; they are competing with Apple who have a huge head-start and more importantly Android. The Zune shows that competing with Apple does not always work out well if you are a 800lb gorilla.
“And Microsoft is preparing a single, free development platform to allow partners to write applications across Windows Phone 7, Windows PCs and in-home consoles”.
I like Visual Studio, but they are competing against Eclipse + Java which is also free and runs on anything (i.e. all PC’s not just ‘Windows PCs’). If he is talking about Silverlight, then they better move quickly, because HTML might just make it obsolete sooner rather than later.
“You will be able to use Windows Phone 7 and not have to worry about how they hold it”.
Coming right on the heels of the Kin, from a company that does not make hardware (and thus will have limited control over hardware quality) this is just silly. I thought spin doctors were not supposed to dis there companies own products like Vista thought.
On iPads vs. Windows Tablets: “The iPad is fabulous at consumption but lousy at content creation,”
Which is why MS have failed at tablets for 10 years. People already have desktop PC’s and laptops.. tablets have to be very very good at consumption. Content creation not so much (though some of the photography/image editing apps on iOS4 are quite good amp; make sense on a tablet).
“Windows Tablets will generate strong momentum in that sweet spot market”.
Maybe.. but right now its worse than vapour-ware as at least vapour-ware offers promise, whereas MS are already selling several touch capable OS’s including Win 7 without notable success. Like the iPhone and iTouch, the iPad has proven the market so MS will have to compete not only with Apple (who will no doubt roll out iPad 2.0 by the time MS get hardware rolling, but they will have to compete with netbooks, Chrome OS, Android, Kindles and maybe even HP/Palm devices.
“On VMware vs. Microsoft Hyper-V Virtualization: “. VMware stands at 48.8 percent. “We’re cross-platform. We run VMware,” said Turner. “They’re not cross-platform.”
Cough, cough, MS claiming cross-platform to be a virtual.
“On Linux” I think he might have a point here. Linux is just part of the environment now amp; I don’t think anybody is expecting Windows to die on the desktop any-time soon; but we care less when running web apps in the cloud. Couple I work for now has most critical in-house apps running as web-apps (with Firefox/Safari/Chrome being preferred browsers), so people here tend to run a mix – mostly Windows but some Macs and Ubuntu machines. Pretty much as it should be.
“On Oracle”: “expensive Oracle licensing agreements”.
As opposed to all those CIO who have expensive MS licensing agreements that often cover things like Windows licenses for hardware that already came with Windows licenses. Sure Oracle is expensive but MSSQLServer is not exactly cheap compared with MySQL either
The slow sinking ship called Microsoft, only a matter of time.
“Turner mentioned Linux for 2 minutes or less”
Says it all really. People never talk about there deepest fears 😛
Any statement by a Microsoft executive should be treated as fluff and taken with a grain of salt. They love to bend and twist statements to make themselves sound like they are on top, however look at market trends. They are declining in many different markets, most notably on the mobile phone market. They are slipping, and they don’t know what else to do. I urge you to do your own research, and see what real people are saying, that use software in real scenarios in the real world. They probably have a different story than Microsoft does.
GB@10: You would have been a good contestant on CNN’s old Crossfire show. The VAR Guy appreciates your point-by-point opinions. Our resident blogger thinks Microsoft made some legitimate points… their revenues and market share are growing in several sectors. But your counter-points provide some balance to the conversation, and healthy reminders that statistics can be spun in multiple ways…
Antony@12: Interesting observation, but it truly seems like Google is now Microsoft’s biggest fear…
Apexwm@13: The VAR Guy isn’t quite so cynical. All tech companies spin stories to their benefit. It’s up to customers and the media (including anonymous bloggers) to analyze the statements and draw their own conclusions.
Thanks for all the comments. The VAR Guy values all the opinions and feedback.
-TVG
Pot, meet kettle.
If anyone tells me they are “honest”, “a good person” or “not evil”, I tend to think the opposite. It’s actions that prove those statements, I don’t need you to tell me, show me (by not sniffing my wi-fi or reading my e-mail).
As a Linux and Windows admin and several Linux deployments, it’s clear that Linux is not making great gains on the desktop, not sure about the server side. The failures of Vista haven’t resulted in mass Linux deployments. As open source applications like OpenOffice and Drupal are running on XP, Win7 and Windows Server, there are less reasons to move to Linux desktops and soon servers. MS may have taken a few hits (Vista and Kin) but won’t result in their downfall.
The frikin’ http://digitalwpc.com/ ask for SilverBlight.
Nothing is form Microsoft unencumbered, you need to have Windblows and Internet Exploder to watch their stinky video.
And they say something to someone…
Wow, Microsoft requires you to add their software to view their site. Before you know it Adobe will require Acrobat to read their documentation and Apple will make you install iTunes to listen/buy their music (or buy an iPod, iPad or iPhone).
Loving the discussion here and all the different viewpoints.
After listening to Kevin Turner’s keynote in its entireity I was struck most by his tone.
He did not sound like a man that was proud and confident of Microsofts achievements.
He came across to me as a man that was angry and frustrated with the market and maybe the media for not giving Microsoft more love.
That is just my perception but if attitudes like that exist at the top that does not bode well for Microsofts culture or their decision making process.
The marketshare case he made with the IDC numbers is certainly interesting however the most interesting number I saw was that 85% of customers are still on XP. If Windows 7 is so compelling then why have more customers not switched to it a full year after it’s release?
As a Postini partner of 8+ years and also a Google Apps reseller, this is all very interesting, to a point. However, I want to say thank you to MSFT, for the additional business that pops up every time MSFT blows the horn at Google.
I was planning on some vacation time this week, but business just kept coming in. We are usually low key from mid-June through the end of July, but that did not happen this year.
Top amp; bottom PL are both up double digits – YTD and up again this quarter, more than the first two quarters. We are not fighting for business or are we giving away more margins to offer free anything.
We have spent less on advertising this year than last and our sales channel is picking up the pace very nicely. So thanks MSFT, keep on keeping Google in the news cycle.
It is interesting, by painting Google as the big evil, Microsoft are indicating that they now consider that google may soon steal big chunks of their market and are thereby telling people that Google now has valid alternatives to Ms products.
As for Linux not taking the market by storm, I’d point out Android, WebOS, Meago, Tomtom, Tivo, ChromeOS and an awful lot of routers all use Linux components, and most people don’t even know.. and the top 500 supercomputers list contains a pretty awful condemnation for Windows at the top end but speaks pretty highly for Linux.
This speech seems to be more how Microsoft would like the future to turn out rather than the current state of affairs.
I don’t like Steve Job’s walled garden, but nobody can deny they are selling devices in numbers Microsoft can only dream of right now.
Windows 7 phone from what I have seen has a clunky interface that takes too long to do things, and has limitations that match those of the first iphones which everyone else has moved past (multitasking anyone?)
“This speech seems to be more how Microsoft would like the future to turn out rather than the current state of affairs.”
Since I first posted last week, I see the news is tending to confim impressions that this is somewhat wishful thinking. First the Infoworld review of ‘Windows Phone 7’ was very critical – their advice was for MS to abandon it.
I don’t know/care much about VMWare as mentioned as ‘VMware vs. Microsoft Hyper-V’ but I noticed The Register story today that VMWare appear to still be growing – and that MS are giving away Hyper-V to compete. In any market, if MS are having to give software away or sell it dirt cheap (like XP on netbooks), then they are looking at decreasing profit.
Binary@18: The VAR Guy enjoys your sarcasm and respects the valid points you’ve raised. Keep ’em coming.
Daniel@19: The VAR Guy isn’t surprised that XP still dominates 85% of the Windows installed base. Windows 7 is still fairly new and Vista was, um, a blunder. Microsoft has more than 1 billion systems to potentially update… Windows 7 is off to a strong start and seems respected by many Microsoft partners/customers. That said, Microsoft certainly faces heated competition. Thanks for reading.
FrankM@20: Please keep The VAR Guy posted as you continue to embrace various SaaS strategies. You sound like you’re ahead of the pack…
Franki@21: Your points about Android are undeniable. Seems like hardware makers are lining up behind Android on smart phones and tablets… though Steve Ballmer says Windows 7 tablets and Windows Phone 7 will show momentum late this year… Hmmm…
Grant@22: The VAR Guy agrees that Microsoft often undercuts rivals on price. But in the case of Hyper-V, it’s a fairly new product/market for Microsoft. So low-ball pricing doesn’t hurt Microsoft’s virtualization margins because the company doesn’t have a large virtualization installed base to protect.
All: The VAR Guy has truly enjoyed this dialog.
-TVG