When the news started up about Microsoft’s thinking regarding the next release of Windows, ala, let’s have a crippled/junior/entry version, I started to write a blog post with a fairly strong reaction to this thinking. But in an nod to mini-Microsoft (and inspired by my good friend Randy) here’s the question every employee at my former employer should be discussing with each other:
How can Microsoft give away Windows and generate revenue from every other source they have today, tomorrow and in the future?
Start your heats up, stop your laughing, and think about the exercise. Some people will scoff and say the company will never give up that revenue. Others will insist that the Net book running a “free” entry level of Windows without some whatever would lock up that market and give Microsoft a huge opportunity to sell services, product, features, etc. Lots of other opinions/ideas, for sure.
My opinion:
Microsoft should have this debate/discussion and see what flushes out if for no other reason then to shock the mindset of the company into some seriously new thinking.
They've got to move to the cloud, totally ubiquitous networking is just around the corner, no one's going to pay full price for windows when the apps are on the net...the netbook version of windows may be the only one that has a long term future...it's a repositioning for MS as big as the '95 memo...and one that MS can do...
Posted by: stewart | April 22, 2009 at 17:49
A reasonably priced subsription model... IMO it's the only way for them to stay relevant moving forward, regardless of how things shift from desktop to cloud. It also gives them the opportunity to push out updates and would allow users to basically download/build a custom application stack.
Maybe the biggest advantage is that it gives them a recurring revenue source, taking the pressure off of them to put out a new version every x years and allowing them to focus on rolling out quality features instead.
Posted by: Terry Smith | April 22, 2009 at 18:16
Hmm they could buy a telco and bundle with connectivity...
Posted by: stewart | April 22, 2009 at 18:41
They should give the actual OS away for cheap or free: the components that integrate and control the hardware and network connections for everything else. Maybe a few free apps like WordPad and Paint and necessary utilities. But for all the other application-level functions included in today's Windows, make them available in the app store for $1.99 or something, and continue to try to make Windows Live (their cloud or SaaS vision) work for the average person.
Posted by: blooflame | April 22, 2009 at 23:46
Give away the razor (Windows OS) and sell the blades (security, media center, etc). The problem for Microsoft though is that they don't have enough blades to sell to make up for the cost of the razor. So then what?
My suggestion is that Microsoft significantly reduce the cost of Windows and create an app marketplace for developers and applications that want to gain preferred access and integration to the OS. Imagine how many developers would line up and pay big bucks to be deeply integrated and shipped with the OS. It would put the Apple App Store to shame. Of course, given Microsoft's hubris and ongoing desire for end-to-end control of the stack, they would never do this.
Posted by: Derek | April 24, 2009 at 16:26
I actually think selling a super cheap version makes a lot of sense. Despite what Linux advocates say, not everyone wants free. I do IT Services in India for the Indian market, and what I see over and over again is a ridiculous reluctance to deploy Linux no matter how many advantages i point out. The belief amongst many is that free simply cannot be better, even if it is comparable(I dont think it is better, just cheaper and more secure). One of the biggest headaches we see is problems that people have because of pirated windows, i.e. windows which doesnt do updates. I'd rather we have a very affordable version of windows available.
Posted by: Amit Doshi | April 28, 2009 at 09:50
Amit,
Thanks for stopping by. That's exactly the debate point(s) I hope are/were discussed.
Posted by: Rick Segal | April 28, 2009 at 09:54
They are already somewhat setup to make money off free Windows: Developer IDEs. As Windows use goes up, it drives up demand from Windows apps (regardless of their provenance from Redmond or elsewhere). Most Windows app developers opt for an IDE from Microsoft (Visual Studio), and many of those are paying for that software (and it's not always cheap: have your priced Visual Studio Team Suite recently?).
I think the razor/blades model mentioned also has merit and is non-exclusive with this approach.
I'm curious about a model that gets them making money from more cloud-based computing. I can't immediately come up with any non-trivial ideas on that front.
Posted by: Jeffrey | April 30, 2009 at 15:57