Quote:
Originally Posted by SteveEisenberg
As for Krugman's idea that Microsoft has a more secure future than Apple, I agree. Many corporate applications which automate Microsoft Office would thus be quite expensive to port to Linux, Mac, or a browser. So Microsoft has stronger lock-in.
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And that is merely at the desktop.
They have an entirely separate lock-in at the system management level, at the workflow level with Exchange, and at the document level with Sharepoint.
People focus overmuch on desktop Windows and forget the rest of their cash cows, forget that MS has built a multi-pronged interlocking system to serve corporate needs. Microsoft's challenges are in their attempts to grow beyond their current cash cows, much as Google and Facebook; Apple's challenges are in their *need* to protect their primary revenue stream.
I'm skeptical that Apple is in any imminent danger but I do agree with Krugman that they are more vulnerable than Microsoft simply because a larger fraction of their revenue comes from one source.
Whatever his failings as a CEO, Ballmer took MS from a Windows company to a diversified company that easily weather problems with any one or even three of their cash cows.