Quote:
Originally Posted by fugazied
Ballmer is more often wrong than he is right. Not an innovator, not a good business leader, just a monkey in a suit.
Ballmer on the iPhone: "The iPhone is the most expensive phone in the world" while noting that Microsoft sells "millions and millions and millions of phones a year" while "Apple sells zero."
"I'd prefer to have our software in 60 percent or 70 percent or 80 percent of [mobile phones], than I would to have 2 percent or 3 percent, which is what Apple might get," he said. And just this past September, the Microsoft headman predicted that the iPhone’s tight integration with all things Apple would cause it to "lose out" in the long run.
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Ballmer's in an unenviable position. Microsoft is a publicly held company, and his biggest responsibility is maintaining and increasing shareholder value, which means supporting the price of the stock.
Microsoft
got a stock price in the stratosphere by being the quintessential "growth" company, posting regular double digit revenue and profit increases. The problem Ballmer faces now is that MS is in transition to "mature" company. Mature companies throw off enormous amounts of cash, but don't have stock prices in the stratosphere.
The issue for MS is maintaining growth, and that's easier said than done. Most of the things that
can run Windows and Office,
do. Where will new sales come from? Unless MS can better penetrate Europe (which largely distrusts it) , and get a foothold in the Indian and Chinese markets, or have better success in other product areas like games and search, MS will have real problems.
No surprise Ballmer will knock the competition for public consumption. He has to make it appear like Microsoft is unconcerned. But the iPhone is likely the most significant new product in the US market in years, and worldwide, Symbian (now wholly owned by Nokia) dominates as smartphone OS. I'm sure Ballmer would love to see Windows Mobile on 60 - 80 percent of mobile phones, but I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for it to happen.
The cynical part of me suspects Bill Gates picked the right time to step down. He built MS to the huge company it is, and became the richest man in the world for a while in consequence. He left a winner. Steve Ballmer gets to try to
keep MS there, which may just not be possible.
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Dennis