“Show Me Your Friends, And I’ll Tell You Who You Are” is something most of us have heard and in some cases seen. Who you are seen with leads to assumptions and to a degree develops perceptions. OK, Dr Phil from Oprah is not in the house today! The point is, business as a whole is based on relationships, partnerships and common goals. Get those three working together and you could very well become the next Apple.
A few weeks ago Microsoft tested the strength of their relationships by unveiling the Surface range of tablets. No partners but rather the company themselves are going into the unknown. That in itself is a huge risk as Microsoft have been very dependent on partners (HP, Lenovo, Dell and Asus etc) for their success. The move has implications that can hurt Microsoft in the long term. So it is a calculated risk but Microsoft has a very big heap of cash to potentially acquire companies to add to their holdings.
However it also has the ability to ensure that partners base decisions on the expectations that Surface will be successful. It is risky but HP has said that they are holding off on selling ARM based tablets. HP have clearly decided to side with Intel and Microsoft (whom are long standing partners) on their future plans and I would not be surprised if Microsoft are paying some of their partners incentives to remain loyal. For those confused, ARM is a competitor to Intel whom Microsoft have a long standing relationship. So does Surface have other effects? Time will tell whether other partners move away or form some partnerships to use Metro apps on their devices…
