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LinuxDig.Com : Linux News: Microsoft Hires 7,000 People?
Author: HumanX | Monday July 26, 2004
Just imagine that, 7,000 people. That is bigger them most small towns. So the question is, what is Microsoft doing with 7,000 people?
Opinion Piece...
The answer, fighting a two front war. And what Microsoft is fighting for is your desktop. The Desktop War has finally begun. This will be an uphill battle for Microsoft, running up a steep slope which has begun to slide.
Who is there enemy? The list is many but can be grouped into a few factions. Google, Novell, RedHat and Linux.
Google, the king of the search engines and soon, king of email. If Google's plans were to hold there ground then the threat to MS would be minimal. But Google is unleashing tools and applications which bring its search engine capabilities closer and closer to the desktop. This gives Google the capability to hurt Microsoft in a number of key area's and probably the worst being MSN. If Google became the defacto search solution within the Windows Suite of Operating Systems, billions of dollars could be lost to Google in one key area, Advertising and Marketing.
Novell and RedHat are more of a pair of allies fighting a common foe, they share the ammunition for the fight, but maintain there own interests outside of the battle. RedHat creeped into the enterprise and overtook the ISP, both of which hurt MS Internet server business. Novell is the sleeping Giant who just realized its time to get off the couch. Novell fusing itself with Linux and delivering a full scale enterprise solution from the backroom to the desktop is a major threat to Microsoft's emerging market, the Enterprise. If Novell pulls off one major sale of its total Linux solution to a large enterprise, the game has really begun. Novell will have the opportunity to turn the tables on MS, Novell will get to integrate MS users into its OS and steel away the lions share.
And Linux has made it happen. The clever little penguin that was once a hobby is causing a revolution. Because Linux is free, Linux hurts Microsoft where it matters most, the techies. The techies shape the industry. They make decisions about the enterprise, about the small office computers. If enough techies are using Linux at home, it is only a matter of time before that experience finds its way into the office.
So what does 7,000 people bring to Microsoft? Microsoft realizes that the Linux Army is building, growing and the momentum is on their side. Linux cannot be stopped, it cannot be squashed. The strategy now is to grow Virgin, budding markets or lock in large markets such as India and China before Linux has the opportunity to get a foothold. This will keep Microsoft in a position to sway the industry. It is not win or loose, it is now a numbers game.
Other Key Players
MySql (website) : One of the favorite databases of the ISP, MySql has releived ISP's of the need / burden of Sql Server. MySql is making inroads in corporate and small/medium business. MySql gives open source visibility and possibility, it legitimizes the potential of the Linux movement.
Mozilla(website) : For the first time in years, Microsoft has seen a slip in the browser market. And one of the main reasons is Mozilla's sharing of the core technology that drives their browsers and also because of the growing popularity of Firefox (Reviews at LinuxDig.Com).
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