Today, there are many thousands of software applications that run on the Windows platform, not only word processing and spreadsheets but also the specialized programs in doctors’ offices, factory floors and retail stores —a very broad network on a technology platform.
"Gates saw software as a separate market from hardware before anyone else, but his great insight was recognizing the power of the network effects surrounding the software," said Michael Cusumano, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Sloan School of Management. That, Professor Cusumano added, was the essential difference in the paths of Microsoft and Apple, the early leaders in personal computing. Apple, he said, focused on making outstanding products alone, while Microsoft nurtured a growing ecosystem of outside software developers who used and were dependent on Microsoft’s technology. The result, he added, was that, while Apple continued to make outstanding products, more than 90% of personal computers ran on Microsoft software.
In the early years, it was unclear how much Mr. Gates was pursuing each opportunity as it came, as opposed to carrying out a grand strategy. He certainly had large ambitions. When he was a Harvard undergraduate, Mr. Gates lamented (為……遺憾) that so many of his fellow students pursued a "narrow track for success" instead of being willing to "take big risks to do big things". In A Harvard Business School Case Study, published in 1994, Mr. Gates spoke of Microsoft’s strategy in terms of network effects and technology standards which enabled the company to command markets. "We look for businesses where we can garner (取得,獲得) large market shares, not just 30% or 35%,"he said.
In the past, Microsoft has beaten back challenges and vanquished (擊敗) rivals, even when it came late to markets, as it did in the first wave of Internet technology. Mr. Gates’wise 1995 decision to embrace Internet browsing technology and attack the early leader, Netscape Communications, started a pitched antitrust battle (激烈的反壟斷戰(zhàn))with the government. "But he extended Microsoft’s hegemony (霸權(quán)) for a decade,"said Mitchell Kapor, a long-time rival.
However, Microsoft is lagging badly in the current round of Internet competition, and analysts say it is facing more formidable (可怕的,難以克服的) challenges this time —notably Google. Microsoft’s share of Internet search in the United States is less than 10%, while Google holds more than 60% and Yahoo has about 20%. And searching is only part of the new platform on the Web, which includes social networks like Facebook and MySpace and Internet-based alternatives to traditional desktop software, including e-mail messaging, word processors and spreadsheets.
"Gates saw software as a separate market from hardware before anyone else, but his great insight was recognizing the power of the network effects surrounding the software," said Michael Cusumano, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Sloan School of Management. That, Professor Cusumano added, was the essential difference in the paths of Microsoft and Apple, the early leaders in personal computing. Apple, he said, focused on making outstanding products alone, while Microsoft nurtured a growing ecosystem of outside software developers who used and were dependent on Microsoft’s technology. The result, he added, was that, while Apple continued to make outstanding products, more than 90% of personal computers ran on Microsoft software.
In the early years, it was unclear how much Mr. Gates was pursuing each opportunity as it came, as opposed to carrying out a grand strategy. He certainly had large ambitions. When he was a Harvard undergraduate, Mr. Gates lamented (為……遺憾) that so many of his fellow students pursued a "narrow track for success" instead of being willing to "take big risks to do big things". In A Harvard Business School Case Study, published in 1994, Mr. Gates spoke of Microsoft’s strategy in terms of network effects and technology standards which enabled the company to command markets. "We look for businesses where we can garner (取得,獲得) large market shares, not just 30% or 35%,"he said.
In the past, Microsoft has beaten back challenges and vanquished (擊敗) rivals, even when it came late to markets, as it did in the first wave of Internet technology. Mr. Gates’wise 1995 decision to embrace Internet browsing technology and attack the early leader, Netscape Communications, started a pitched antitrust battle (激烈的反壟斷戰(zhàn))with the government. "But he extended Microsoft’s hegemony (霸權(quán)) for a decade,"said Mitchell Kapor, a long-time rival.
However, Microsoft is lagging badly in the current round of Internet competition, and analysts say it is facing more formidable (可怕的,難以克服的) challenges this time —notably Google. Microsoft’s share of Internet search in the United States is less than 10%, while Google holds more than 60% and Yahoo has about 20%. And searching is only part of the new platform on the Web, which includes social networks like Facebook and MySpace and Internet-based alternatives to traditional desktop software, including e-mail messaging, word processors and spreadsheets.