Microsoft's 10 Best Milestones in 2013
Did Microsoft have a remarkable year or a not so good year? For a
company as spreading as the developer of Windows, Office and the Xbox, in
order to tell you, it will be hard net to crack. Microsoft presented host of
headlines in 2013, but for many different reasons. In order to know
whether or not the company is on the positive track, it favors to look at its
current past.
Microsoft unfolded its next tech in 2012 with the
introduction of Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8, 2012 was a giant year
for Microsoft. But Microsoft also came across to accomplish its a lot of
home word to make major changing this year.
When it completely overhauled its software platforms as well as its basic
purpose, to transition from a software company to a "devices and
services" company, as then-CEO Steve Ballmer explained it. Microsoft made
some enormous plays, but they were long plays Microsoft made some big
plays, and it would take time to see whether they would pan out. Microsod remained
engrossed in its world throughout this year. Its fortunes in 2013 lent some
insight into whether Microsoft's bets were well-placed and what it might
do to stay in the game — and possibly even win it.
I have compiled major events and launches of Microsoft in 2013 as
below:
1. Office 365 and the Subscription Model
When the latest version of Microsoft Office 365 was launched in
January, the most important feature wasn't its optimization for the cloud
and social networks or that it wasn't technically a Windows 8 app. Rather, the
most noteworthy change was the business model. After years of selling
Office as a standalone app, Microsoft switched to a subscription plan.
Now onward, buyers won't have to pay lump sun amount for Word,
Excel and PowerPoint, buyers would pony up a few bucks a month or $100 a
year to access them. The apps themselves also improved tremendously, with
direct ties to Microsoft services, including SkyDrive, which got even
better this fall with real-time online collaboration in documents.
2. The Surface's $900 Million Stumble
When Microsoft announced its Q4 2013 earnings in July, it dropped
a monumental goose egg: The company was taking a $900 million reduction
due to Surface RT inventory, essentially meaning it had produced far more
Surface tablets than people wanted to buy. It wasn't hard to see that
coming. Windows 8 was arguably fundamentally flawed, but Microsoft didn't do it
any favors by christening a buggy, under performing device as its flagship
product, with few apps of any relevance at launch. While software updates
rapidly fixed most of the issues, the damage was done, and the ARM-based
Windows RT operating system is all but dead because of it.
3. Office Arrives on iPhone and Android
Office is one of Microsoft's pillars, but it has faced fierce
competition from Google, Apple and others, particularly in mobile. To face
them directly, Microsoft finally opened up Office to new platforms, including
iOS and Android. While the apps themselves are stripped down to the bare
minimum for tiny mobile screens, Office's migration to competing
platforms represents an "OS agnostic" view that would have been
heresy in the company's heyday.
4. Facebook, Foursquare and Flipboard for Windows 8
At Microsoft's Build developer conference this year, Steve Ballmer
announced that Windows 8, which so far had done nothing to prevent to
slide of PC adoption, was finally attracting some big-name apps. The big Fs —
Facebook, Flipboard and Foursquare — were all developing Windows 8 versions
of their services.Even better, they all came through, sometimes in big ways.
Facebook's Windows 8 app uses the wider screen of most Windows tablets
well, Flipboard has a unique live tile, and Foursquare's app re-invents the
location service as a powerful discovery engine. With A-list apps on
board, the road is paved for other developers to ride into Windows 8. At least
that's the hope.
5. Ballmer Steps Down
With summer winding down, Ballmer awakened a sleepy news
cycle with the announcement that the Microsoft cofounder would step down
as CEO within the next year. Rumors about the move had swirled for a long time,
but it seemed Ballmer and Microsoft just couldn't quit each other. The
scuttle but says Ballmer's departure planned, then accelerated once the Surface
RT failure was apparent and the company's
Across-the-board restructuring, which began in July, was underway.
Now the hunt is on for his successor, with former Nokia CEO Stephen Elop
and Ford's Alan Mulally rumored to be leading the pack of contenders.
6. Microsoft Buys (Most of) Nokia
.jpg "TECH POP-UPS")
Apple has the iPhone. Google bought Motorola. But what about
Microsoft, keeper of the Windows Phone flame? To really be a top-to-bottom
master of services and devices, Microsoft needed a phone. Microsoft needed a phone.
Rather than create its own hardware as it did with the Surface tablets,
Microsoft opted to simply buy its closest partner, Nokia, by far the leader
in Windows Phone hardware. The move made a lot of sense. The mobile market
is nothing like the tablet market, and it's much better to rely on
someone else's experience rather than reinvent the wheel. Considering the
strategic partnership Nokia and Microsoft made in early 2011, this was
simply the consummation of protracted courtship.
7. Windows Phone Goes Big
Nokia Lumia 1520
In early 2013, it was even money whether Windows Phone or
BlackBerry would be the true "third alternative" in the war of mobile
ecosystems. It's now clear that the Windows Phone has won that title, with
fast-growing market share in most regions — even taking the No. 2 position
in places such as Latin America . With its
latest update, Windows Phone can now go toe-to-toe with Android in one of the
most popular mobile categories: phablets. Big-screen phones are a big deal
in China , India
8. Windows 8.1 Arrives
Microsoft had a powerful operating system with Windows 8, but it
was unfinished. Its multi-window mode, Snap, only worked with one size of
window; you couldn't use custom images as Start screen backgrounds and working
Word docs in SkyDrive was slow as hell. Windows 8.1 fixed all those
problems and more while introducing several new features. In a symbolic
gesture, Microsoft also brought back the Start button to the design of the
desktop. It was almost functionally irrelevant, but it sent a message to
users: Although we've already picked the road to travel on, we can still change
lanes.
9. Surface, Generation 2
Surface 2
The original Surface RT may have been a failure, but its brother,
the Surface Pro, was a much more successful product. Benefiting from a
later release, meaning polished software and a more powerful processor, the
Surface Pro received good reviews when it debuted in January and proved to
be a more worthy flagship for Windows 8. That explains why Microsoft doubled
down on the Surface concept and released second-generation models this fall.
The new Surface 2 and Surface Pro 2 also serve as flagships for Windows8.1, and the Haswell chip inside the Pro eliminates the biggest criticism
of Gen 1: battery life. Are there enough apps and good feelings about Windows,
though, to turn the Surface 2 into any kind of success? Microsoft badly
needs it to be, but it will probably have to settle for "not a
disaster."
10. The Xbox One
If Microsoft has any product with the kind of buzz and customer
loyalty that Apple devices are known for, it's the Xbox. The Xbox 360 is one of
the best-selling game consoles ever, and the new Xbox One looks to take its game
play and versatility as a general entertainment gateway to the next level.
Microsoft may have stumbled out of the gate with seemingly draconian
downloading policies, but it quickly reversed itself, especially when Sony
rubbed salt into the wound by promising to deliver a more gamer-friendly
approach. The Xbox One now appears to be a more fully-formed console than its
rival, the PlayStation 4, so Microsoft's Xbox loyalty may carry into
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iPad & Tablet,
Mobile Phones,
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