.NET: Interprets the new strategy of Microsoft Internet (below) (龙 阁 collection, strong recommendation!)
MSN network service
Before the overall strategy of .NET, MSN actually has always been a heart disease of Microsoft. Since the introduction of Windows 95 in 1995, MSN has been fruitful in the construction of information content, but its position in Microsoft's overall strategy and its own development strategy have been swaying. From the number of registered users of online services, MSNs cannot be compared with AOL, and it is difficult to guarantee the profit as a pure web service portal. However, since Microsoft used .NET's idea to integrate software / service into a concept, MSN truly a new role. It will not only combine all the technical essence of Microsoft, become Microsoft .NET's test bench, which will truly integrate all the commercial models of Microsoft, eventually become the center of Microsoft software, information, and commercial services.
MSN has a group of world-class information service sites, such as MSNBC, CARPOINT, HOMEADVISOR, Expedia, Hotmail, Moneycentral, Bcereen, MSN Community, Gamezone, Slate, etc., are among the top of the same kind of service website. Even a separate business value of each site is far more than some .com. However, Microsoft's goal is not so simple, Microsoft should fully integrate these services through .NET, allow users to use unique authentication Passport cross-access to various services.
· Hotmail is the global free Web email site acquired by MSN, which is now able to support most international languages and have already registered users.
· Microsoft Messenger services are personal instant information service tools competed with AOL AIM, ICQ, and Yahoo Pager. Although Microsoft started late in this block, in the US market, it has been behind, but according to the recent Media Matrix survey, Microsoft's Messenger service has become the world's most popular instant information service tool.
· Bcentral is the largest SME ASP site in the number of registered SMEs, which not only provides a variety of applications in daily management in small companies, but also helps companies in the form of marketing skills through flexible advertising.
· Expedia site is currently the most popular tourist site, which provides travel services from head to tail, from scheduled tickets, rooms, car rental, and has all until tourism consumption. Some domestic tourist sites are also imitating Expedia.
HOMEADvisor is the site currently the largest house intermediary sale and mortgage loan service in North America.
CARPOINT is the largest car sales site
· GameZone is the most popular online game site
· MSNBC and Slate are Microsoft and NBC and the famous political reviewers Kinsley's news site and political review site. Microsoft is intended to control media and public opinion.
· Moneycentral is a service center provided by investment / wealth management. The financial and analysis tools provided by this site fully demonstrate Microsoft as the advantage of technology companies. These tools have not only award award, but they truly help large investors have improved the opportunity to profit.
There is also a core user authentication service Passport on the MSN, which is also a core service of Microsoft .NET. Passport will establish a huge digital authentication system in accordance with the scale of each user-oriented every user. This certification system not only contains the user's identity, but the credit card information (called Passport wallet) will also establish a user's personalized file for different services. Users can register a variety of services on the Passport, or click once to pay for shopping, which is more convenient than the different usernames and passwords than today. But along with the convenience, the identity and personal characteristics of each user will be managed and controlled by the Passport service in the future.
The MSN website is about to play .NET's service platform role, so it is also very important to develop deep-level services. "Different from other pure network service companies, MSN is more supported by a wallet," The Gartner Group analyst David Smith said. Indeed, the online service of MSN itself is still a "burning money", but in Microsoft's overtake, MSN's status is so important, so that Microsoft does not care if these services can be like other companies. Profit in the short term as required by the board of directors. In the future, in addition to continuing to strengthen the own depth of various services, it is necessary to integrate. In the next two years, MSN will also try to provide software services, allowing users to "rent" software on the network, expand the use of software products by means of browser or download registration. A secretly unintended project is developing in Microsoft, which will provide a integrated office efficiency kit on the MSN, allowing users to use more Word, Excel, email, etc. Features and store the document on the network. The service charging method that users uses these features can be computed in accordance with the number of uses or the rental space, but it is not necessary to pay a lot of costs as one of the purchase of Office software.
MSN also combines a variety of operating systems of Microsoft next-generation, users are the most easily accessible through various terminals is MSN's global service. MSN's butterfly logo will appear on more and more user interfaces, so you can't stop.
Enterprise Application Server Products
Microsoft's earliest product labeled products is actually Microsoft's BackOffice series. These products used to construct an enterprise-level application have not much support for .NET's core technology, but the role in the entire .NET business model is not simple. Microsoft continuously enhances the technical content of BackOffice, enabling them to adapt to the requirements of enterprise-class tasks. Microsoft hopes to enhance the status of BackOffice in large enterprise calculations by providing increasing availability (Availability) and becomes a core component of various services in the future. Exchange 2000, SQL Server 2000, and the upcoming SharePoint enterprise knowledge management and collaboration platforms will become Microsoft's products driven within an enterprise.
Office is Microsoft's goldeni chicken, currently accounting for 46% of Microsoft, and 50% of the benefits, and will still play a Microsoft Profit Center in the next few years. In addition to adding more features for this product line, Microsoft will also bring these products to "software as a service" commercial model for .NET. The upcoming Office XP will try the software "Activate" feature to allow users to use Microsoft's website or phone to support the activation code before they can be used, and they cannot be installed on multiple computers. Microsoft's goal is to gradually become familiar with the concept of subscribe of products, and subsequent Office will provide "rental mode" within 1-2 years, allowing users to rent products in accordance with annual payment. This allows users to pay for use in $ 100 / year in the Office software sold in $ 400. Microsoft can help users save money, but also to expand the number of truly paid customers through control products, and ultimately reach the income increase. According to statistics, the pirated users of Microsoft products are 5 times higher than legitimate users. If the copyright control technology is effective, it is possible to develop at least half of the legitimate users of Microsoft. Microsoft's sales performance will be greatly improved.
Microsoft's development tool series will also play an important role in .NET, because .NET has changed significantly on Microsoft software technology, Microsoft's development tools will also reborn, fully support .NET Web Service development. Microsoft's recent Visual Studio.NET beta software has attracted great interest in global developers. Although Visual Stuido.net is developing a model, development tool programming environment, and the language changes are larger, advanced developers are still unusually excited for a computational model that can be accessed globally. Microsoft's MSDN (Microsoft Developer Network) is also actively cooperated, and continuously launching traditional developers to transform to new ideas and tools. It is to know that one of the important reasons for the success of Microsoft's operating system is the promotion of the API. Today, the next-generation network API provided by .NET will have a pivotal impact on .NET's entire business success. other products
In addition, Microsoft also tried to develop new products in nearly 100 projects. These products will support Microsoft's new strategy from different sides, or find new ideas for Microsoft to make the necessary innovation.
For example, Microsoft's media services Windows Media have surpassed REAL to become the highest market share. The latest version of Windows Media 7 technology includes Microsoft's past multimedia video, audio results, Microsoft repeatedly demonstrates audio technology than MP3 compression ratio than MP3 compression ratio. In addition, Windows Media 7 has added a digital copyright management mechanism that is critical to digital media services, allowing digital media content providers to publish their own works on the Internet. This version of the product has signed a cooperation agreement with a number of digital media service companies before launch, and has become the preferred technology for providing network digital media on-demand and subscription. Microsoft also extends these products to small screen devices, allowing individual users to get multimedia enjoy anytime, anywhere.
Microsoft is also developing technology and products related to e-books. The Microsoft Reader Reader launched in 2000 is a real shocked Adobe company in the e-book market. Because Microsoft's readers can not only pack the book document, it also supports a high-resolution font technology ClearType for Microsoft's long-term research and development. ClearType technology supports the liquid crystal display and divides a liquid crystal display pixel into three sub-pixels. This supports Cleartype's application can display pages, even close to paper printing, and bring the people to read the eye-catching effect. Microsoft's domineering development of electronic books, such as digital copyright control, must also expect to have a place in the future digital publishing.
In addition, Microsoft will also have more products in the field of education software, enterprise management applications. When the competitive pattern changes, the products in these areas may become a new breakthrough in Microsoft.
Products that are about to eliminate
In Microsoft's history, it has eliminated a lot of products. They have all been sweating for Microsoft, or helping Microsoft, or to help Microsoft's market innovation. As Microsoft .NET is full, Window95, Windows98, Windows NT, etc. will gradually become history. However, as people still reviewing Microsoft's first success today, the role and merits of these products cannot be abrasive.
It is also worth mentioning that Microsoft's Windows Me. This home operating system launched in the millennium is not a warm response of Windows 95 in the market. In fact, Microsoft just tested the market's consumption attitude and demand before Windows XP. In the United States, this test of this transition product is more important. In particular, there are some stresses of "colorful" new products such as Apple, and Microsoft must say that they will not let consumers disappoint or transfer their sight. Windows Me is purely a marketing product, and there is no legal position in Microsoft's operating system. I don't know how much Microsoft earned it on Windows Me, but it is certain that at least make Microsoft gains the consumer recent phase in the purchase behavior and feedback on the operation interface. Management elite
"If the best 20 people our company take away, then, I tell you that Microsoft will become an incompetent company."
- 1992, Bill Gates
In the past year, there have been many senior managers who have left Microsoft. They started their own half-life entrepreneurship in Microsoft's experience and accumulated wealth, or retired. But Bill Gates did not seem to have too much impact. He relieved the company to give the company to the intimate old comrades Steve Ballmer, and use his own moments to think about a new digital empire dream. . In fact, Bill has already said that he has been in the past many years. The most loyal and reliable Steve Ballmer became an official successor, which is not surprising.
There is also an unexpected second successor is Belvezzo, Rick Bervezo is the CEO of SGI, but after many times with Microsoft competes for high-end graphics workstation market, as a friend of Bill, Bei Lu Zoi joined Microsoft in 1999 to jointly pursue the macro map of Microsoft New Century. Sure enough, Belvezzo did not live up to Bill's trust, not only in a short time, MSN, which was in a non-warm state, became the world's largest network service provider, but also more than 200 million independent users, but also helped Microsoft. The determination to enter the business model characterized by the future. Microsoft's .NET strategy will have a shadow of MSN everywhere. "Airborne soldiers" Belvezzo has also successfully laid its own position in Microsoft. Out of the past the outside world is not optimistic about the personal vocational experience of Bevezo, maybe in Microsoft can truly play his advantage.
After years of entrepreneurship, Microsoft has created the world's largest software kingdom, and its most important assets are a continuous senior talent. These talents have created Microsoft's glory not around Bill Gates, but they also laid their status and identity in the industry. Like Brocco Allen, Paul Allen, but also gave birth from Microsoft, but also gave birth to many new enterprises in the venture capital industry, and became one of the windsome of the industry. It used to be the universal affirmation of the industry because of the successful creation and leadership of Microsoft's research institutes and leading the future of Bill. Najuse left Microsoft in 1999 and started a personal investment.
Despite the experience. Microsoft's high-level management has changed significantly after CMM changes, Microsoft is still one of the most attractive companies. Recently, Microsoft has just been captured by Microsoft from IBM, CLIFF Reeves, is responsible for the marketing of the Windows 2000 server market, and his work will replace the existing person in charge Jim Ewel. JIM can be seen as a tired sheep in Microsoft Windows 2000 sales, but which company's employee is not so? Microsoft's old will, before Coo Bob Herot, also announced a retirement day, so that Belvezzo, which is a red, this is also another symbol of Microsoft in the new century, new strategy, and new team. Bob declares that he is due to the post of the job, but people with Microsoft's relationship believes that Bob's resignation may also be due to the recent Microsoft website repeatedly attacked and internal management inadvertently caused website DNS service failure.
In many senior talents, Bill Gates is still Microsoft's soul. His persistence and stick to become the power of Microsoft's courage, Bill's idea will lead this company to create a new miracle. When you go to see Bill's own personal site, you will understand how he is understanding for constant innovation. Competition about new game rules
"If you are playing a game, you can still don't know who is for the sins after 20 minutes, then you are the sin."
US investor Warren Buffett
Microsoft's vision actually reflects the voice of all information companies, that is, it does indicate the big trend of future information industry development. This big trend brings new games and game rules. In the new digital economy characterized by "service", who can occupy more terminals, who can control service access rights and service quality (QoS), who can Occupy the main status of the service platform, who can develop some key game rules, and will eventually get the true leadership status and maximum business profit. Because of this, Microsoft is chasing me with a number of vendors, and the exhibitors are fighting, and strive to become such a leader.
In terms of software and technology, Sun and Oracle are naturally Microsoft's largest competitor. Since Microsoft launched .NET strategy, Sun Company and Oracle and other companies were not weak. Sun launched in Microsoft. Net has announced a concept called One (Open Net Environment), where Microsoft's strategy is to meet Microsoft's strategies in front of the public. Oracle's concept of Dynamic Web Service with Microsoft. The technical orientation of these concepts is small, but it is not the same from the feasibility angle of the realization.
Sun has been a major supplier of high-end network services in the past few years of proposing "Internet is computer" concept and Java language. Java is a very good development language with features cross-platform operation. After several entanglement with SUN's legal use of Java, Microsoft has developed a new programming language that replaces Java, C # (sound C Sharp). C # will appear in Microsoft's new generation development tool Visual Studio.NET, becoming a key language for developing and platform-independent Web Service. Microsoft has also launched a tool that attracts Java developers to the .NET platform and C # migration, so that Java developers can use the .NET platform as an updated development platform. Those programmers who are still hesitant will be attracted to these tools, add more features to the application of .NET platform, and take the initiative to fell to the "pomegranate skirt" in .NET.
On the attitude toward Oracle, Microsoft changed the attitude of fierce confrontation, active and Orcale for new platforms, but Microsoft still does not exclude any opportunities that can be applied from Oracle. In addition to actively developing enterprise-level high-end application platforms, Microsoft is also invading Oracle and other companies through mergers or strategic cooperation. In December 2000, the Great Plains software company was acquired to enter the market of medium-sized small enterprises. Great Plains provides software available for capital control, distribution, corporate report, project liquidation, e-commerce, human resources and wages, manufacturing, sales and marketing management, and customer service and support. The acquisition of Great Plains will give Microsoft to obtain profit points in the business application market for SMEs, providing support for its .NET strategy. In February 2001, it began to reach a strategic cooperation with Plum Tree and other companies to enter the company's portal application market.
In terms of online services, Microsoft's competitors are AOL and Yahoo. Although AOL is in the network service, it takes one step by Microsoft and accounts for leadership in the US market. But Microsoft has many years of international experience, all products and services can launch dozens of language versions at the same time, and competition in the international market will be better than AOL. This advantage will be in turn acting on the US local market, add Microsoft's ability to penetrate the client, and ultimately form a pattern with AOL secondary world. Of course, AOL and Times Warner's merger may occupy a long time in terms of content, but this also forces Microsoft to find strategic cooperation or even mergers or acquisitions with traditional media competing with Times Warner. Public opinion believes that the merger of AOL and Times Warner may be the starting point of success, or it may be difficult to swim. In any case, it is a best time that Microsoft is a possible transcendence. Microsoft can achieve the best integration scheme by helping software technology included in its .NET, and AOL may be difficult to form a linkage of integral strategies because of its technical disadvantages. Yahoo may ultimately get some living opportunities from the sashimi of the two companies. Preparation
Compared to all competitors, Microsoft has a more important fund guarantee for the opponent in addition to the new strategy. Microsoft currently has more than 20 billion dollars in cash in the bank, except for short-term investment, there is basically no debt. The market value of Microsoft is still in the IT businesses, in addition to the overall trend of the economy as other competition opponents, can say no worries.
Microsoft has a branch office or subsidiary in more than around 60, and more than 16,000 research and developers close to 40,000 employees worldwide. Microsoft employees have an average age of 34.2. These resources are difficult to match, compared to other companies or economic strength, or in terms of technical strength, or international experience, and Microsoft's competition will inevitably be more tragic. Of course, with the continuous squeezing of Microsoft .NET strategy, these competitors will inevitably sacrifice new anti-monopoly allegations to protect themselves.
But it is precisely because the future competition pattern will change, and Microsoft's competitors and partners will continue to change. Maybe one day, today's competitors may naturally come together, become a like-minded partner, and who can guarantee that they will eventually become a family? From a certain extent, some giants represented by Microsoft will "control" the digital lifeblood of the world, this is the real cause of .NET must be carefully treated and observed.
The story just started
As I wrote this paper, the US stock market is experiencing the most heavy blow for a few years, and the concerns of the economic recession also threatens the high-tech industry. Cisco, Intel, Oracle, etc. have emerged unprecedented income alerts and layoffs. The brilliant Yahoo company is even more "housing leaks," not only the income is much lower than the expected, but also the management of two joint management. In this period of this economic downturn, Microsoft also lowered the forecasts of income and profits, but Microsoft's share price did not have too much change. On March 10th news weekly interview Bill Gates, the first time I fully talk about the problem of .NET, charity and competitors. Bill uses "the world calm, but there are some overkill" to describe the attitude of people to high-tech industries, and emphasize that Microsoft will not have reduction in R & D, Bill also shows Microsoft in the face of AOL and Times Warner. The company is not weak and self-confidence. This conversation allows people to see Microsoft's true intrinsic strength.
At the same time, Microsoft is step by step, fully promoting the various phases of .NET:
On March 12, 2001, Microsoft announced cooperation with eBay.com, shared the technical interface and business interface of both parties, and promoted the application of .NET in e-commerce. According to the cooperation framework, both sides will strengthen cooperation in many fields, eBay will support Microsoft's .NET core platforms, such as Windows 2000 servers and Microsoft Passport services; as for Microsoft, the ebay network auction technology is integrated into carpoint .com, WebTV, Small Enterprise Center Bcentral, and other services of MSN. On March 14, 2001, Microsoft quietly acquired a network calendar service provider WebAppoint.com so that it is a key application for .NET services.
On March 19, 2001, Bill Gates announced its "Hailstorm" product, this new integrated service system contains the upgraded version of Microsoft "instant messaging" Microsoft Messenger, Hotmail and Passport service, truly .NET overall The most underlying service system of the architecture. Future user registration, authentication, payment, and personalized services will be greatly driven.
HAILSTORM, working with eBay, the acquisition of WebAppoint.com only shows the small corners of Microsoft's majestic targets, Microsoft is carefully creating a new "Digital Service Empire" with ambient heart. When the outside world is confused for Microsoft's lawsuits, Linux threats, Windows 2000 "bug", Microsoft has already opened a strong motor, embarking on risks and brilliant coexistence. One day, when people 's lives are inseparable from Microsoft, what is it worried? Only if the hundreds of millions of users go to experience and comment.
Finally, we have suggested "fear of Microsoft", "微 微软", "imitate Microsoft" and "learning Microsoft". The basic characteristics of commercial society are free competition and free cooperation. Microsoft is impossible to develop all game rules. It will never destroy all competitors, and it is more impossible to give up cooperation. If your company is trying to compete with Microsoft, then we should carefully try to compete with its products or compete with its .NET strategy, or think about whether there is enough follow-up support, or change a thinking See if you can work with Microsoft.
Microsoft's grand strategy is really daunting, but more importantly, these new strategies and their thoughts will stimulate the entire industry to constantly innovate, and will definitely maintain dynamic balance. Even if Bill Gates' wealth is more and more, the final beneficiary will also be human itself.
related resources:
Microsoft Website: http://www.microsoft.com/
MSN: http://www.msn.com/
Microsoft .NET Information Website: http://www.microsoft.com/net
Microsoft China Website: http://www.microsoft.com/china
MSDN .NET development website: http://msdn.microsoft.com/net
China XML Alliance: http://www.xml.org.cn/
Bill Gates Personal Site: http://www.microsoft.com/billgates/
About the Author:
Mao is glow: graduated from Shanghai Jiaotong University, US ACM member, leader of China XML Alliance Expert Group. CEOs currently serve as the Tangram Software. Committed to the study of XML and human machine interaction technology, and promote the company to develop distributed electronic education software technology on .NET platform. Before joining Easy Company, he served as a software architecture design in Intel Architecture Lab. Washing multi-computer technology books, often publishing columns to IT industries.
Chen Zhihong: Graduated from National University of Singapore. Oh Waitwaterhouse, Sony and other companies as a auditor, system engineer and other work, now in HP. In recent years, it is committed to studying the business model of IT enterprises and financial issues. Note: Microsoft, Windows, .NET, BackOffice, Office, etc. are trademarks or registered trademarks of Microsoft.
(Finish)
