Microsoft is not going into the housing industry or starting to do renovations, but the company has a problem. It is a symptom of their lack of leadership in key verticals that they have not been able to reduce a duplication of functionality.
Consider the following – Microsoft currently has 3 different operating systems. There is the maker of millions and corner of success, called Windows. It is currently in its eighth version and is a critical part of global computing. This is the one part of the business that is getting a lot of competition from tablets and Mac OS X which has now become free.
Secondly there is their mobile software called Windows Phone. This is the part of Microsoft that has grown a lot and gotten a lot more user friendly. If you compare the newest version to what was seen in the past it is almost feels like a new business. Microsoft has had to move forward in this space as Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android has made significant impact on both tablets and mobile phones. Is it too late for Microsoft Phone OS?
Lastly, there is the newest operating system called Windows RT. This software was specifically made for the Microsoft Surface. The problem that Microsoft now has is this – they have 3 versions of their operating system. They have struggled to create mulch-purpose software that can be used on a variety of devices and at the moment is under pressure to regain focus. The trend seen with Apple or Google is to have 2 versions of the operating system, one for desktop devices and another version for mobile devices (cellphones and tablets). Does this imply that Windows RT is the odd one out? It is clear that Microsoft needs to design a hybrid solution that resolves the needs of mobile devices. They cannot sustain all 3 versions of Windows in the long run, as that will lead to their downfall. Is this another issue for the new Microsoft CEO?
