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Gary Edwards

Why Microsoft is building HoloLens - Business Insider - 0 views

www.businessinsider.com/dware-ibm-pc-windows-10-2016-3

interoperability

shared by Gary Edwards on 06 Mar 16 - No Cached
  • Jumpstarting the future The iPhone and Android have a stranglehold on the mobile market. Apple has ridden the iPhone to becoming the most valuable company in the world, while Google's Android is now the most powerful operating system in the world. Microsoft missed that boat. And Microsoft, going forward, has to decide if it wants to keep throwing good money after bad into its struggling Windows phone business while it tries to force the next big thing to happen. 
  • Microsoft has decided to build the devices it wants to see in the world. And with PC sales shrinking, Microsoft is looking to more science-fictional concepts. The tone was set in 2012, when Microsoft launched the Surface, its first tablet. That was followed up by the Surface Pro laptop/tablet hybrid, and eventually, the Surface Book, Microsoft's first full-fledged laptop.  
  • And in all cases, those cloned devices are running the Microsoft Windows 10 operating system.
  • ...2 more annotations...
  • Building a computer (or a hologram headset, or a car) is labor-intensive, requires a lot of specialized parts, and takes time to make each and every unit. Dell's margins hover around 3%; Ford's are around 7%.  Meanwhile, one of Microsoft's big advantages has always been that software is a much higher-margin business than hardware. In 1999, right at the height of its powers, Microsoft's operating margins were 51.7%.
  • Microsoft's smart move was to make profitable software, and let companies like IBM, Dell, HP, and Compaq build their low-margin, "IBM Compatible" PCs. After all, they all still needed buckets of pricey Windows licenses, no matter what they charged for their computers.
  • Gary Edwards on 06 Mar 16
     
    The key to the Microsoft Empire has always been that of controlling the "interoperability layer". It's something Bill Gates learned in 1980, when he opted to forgo royalty payments from IBM for DOS, in order to control all rights to DOS. "Probably the smartest choice Bill Gates ever made came in 1980, when he decided not to hand over the copyright for Microsoft's first-ever operating system to IBM.  In 1980, IBM contracted a startup called Microsoft to deliver DOS, an operating system for its forthcoming IBM PC, on a tight deadline. The IBM PC came out in 1981, and soon became a smash hit, surpassing the leading Apple II. A horde of competitors rushed to build their own "IBM Compatible" clones that could run all of the same software and use all of the same hardware upgrades. But to build those IBM clones, they needed DOS. And if they wanted DOS, they needed to fork over cash to Microsoft. Microsoft kept the rights in lieu of royalties from IBM. DOS put Microsoft the very center of the PC revolution, even through the era of Windows, and even after IBM left the PC market, eventually selling off that business. 36 years later, it's been a long time since the IBM PC moment. And with the Apple iPhone and Google Android ruling the all-important mobile market, Microsoft missed its shot at the mobile operating system revolution.  That's why Microsoft, which keeps boasting about how much it loves selling cloud services and subscriptions, is suddenly investing so much in hardware like the HoloLens and the Surface. If no new IBM PC will come along like in 1981, Microsoft will just have to build it itself. "
Gary Edwards

Businesses spending more on tech, worrying more about IT disruption | CIO - 0 views

www.cio.com/...-more-about-it-disruption.html

interop interoperability

shared by Gary Edwards on 26 Feb 16 - No Cached
  • The good news is that the vast majority of decision-makers expect to maintain or increase their 2016 IT budgets. Forty-eight percent are planning IT budget growth at an average increase of 22 percent over last year, according to the study, while just six percent of companies are planning to spend less on IT than last year. Medium-sized companies are growing their tech spending most aggressively, with 60 percent planning to increase their budget by an average of 17 percent over 2015. The study found 42 percent of small companies are planning to increase their budget by an average of 27 percent over 2015, while 44 percent of large companies are planning to increase their budget by 18 percent over 2015.
  • Adoption of new cloud technologies and solutions will continue at a rapid clip in 2016. The study found 89 percent of technology influencers cited cloud computing as the innovation that has had the most significant impact on technology today and 84 percent plan on investing in cloud services in 2016. Software as a Service (SaaS) is likely to lead the way with 54 percent planning to invest, followed by Security as a Service, with 49 percent planning to invest.
  • Gary Edwards on 26 Feb 16
     
    "Technology leaders are disenchanted with the current state of their IT infrastructure. According to a study released Tuesday by global technology provider Insight Enterprises, tech leaders give their companies' current IT infrastructure a "B minus" grade. For its first Insight Enterprises Intelligent Technology index, Insight Enterprises used Market Intel Group to conduct an online survey of a random sample of 403 IT professionals with decision-making responsibilities between Nov. 30, 2015 and Dec. 8, 2015. How to use Windows 10 backup and recovery features Sooner or later, you're going to experience a hard drive failure, usually when you least expect it. READ NOW The study found that 55 percent of respondents felt the current technology in place at their business was a hindrance to incorporating or adopting new technologies, even as 65 percent of respondents were worried about disruption from technology innovation. While 65 percent of tech leaders overall were worried about the prospect of disruption, tech-decision makers at larger companies are especially feeling the pressure: The study found that 74 percent of tech influencers at large companies and 75 percent of tech influencers at medium-sized companies were concerned about disruption. "
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