Microsoft Embracing Open Ecosystems

[Darius Wey]

http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=146646

"Zune is unlikely "to make any dent at all in Apple’s market share," says Tim Bajarin of Creative Strategies, a consultancy in Silicon Valley. But Microsoft probably has no choice but to try, he adds. During its first 25 years, he says, Microsoft succeeded above all by bringing computer technology to businesses; to succeed in its next 25 years, it must turn its attention to consumer gadgets, for that is where the innovation and growth will be. But the formula with which Microsoft achieved its dominance in the first round appears not to be working in the second. So Zune is based on a very different business model-evidence that Microsoft is changing."

The iPod and Xbox 360 are living proof that closed ecosystems in the entertainment industry do work. This is the path the Zune is taking, though that doesn't necessarily guarantee success in the same order as the aforementioned. In its current form, the Zune ecosystem is decent, but it could be so much more. Where are the movies and the TV shows? Where's the deep integration with other Microsoft products (because at the moment, it's only scraping the surface)? There's so much potential, and Microsoft has to deliver it.

[Darius Wey]

http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=146646

"Zune is unlikely "to make any dent at all in Apple’s market share," says Tim Bajarin of Creative Strategies, a consultancy in Silicon Valley. But Microsoft probably has no choice but to try, he adds. During its first 25 years, he says, Microsoft succeeded above all by bringing computer technology to businesses; to succeed in its next 25 years, it must turn its attention to consumer gadgets, for that is where the innovation and growth will be. But the formula with which Microsoft achieved its dominance in the first round appears not to be working in the second. So Zune is based on a very different business model-evidence that Microsoft is changing."

The iPod and Xbox 360 are living proof that closed ecosystems in the entertainment industry do work. This is the path the Zune is taking, though that doesn't necessarily guarantee success in the same order as the aforementioned. In its current form, the Zune ecosystem is decent, but it could be so much more. Where are the movies and the TV shows? Where's the deep integration with other Microsoft products (because at the moment, it's only scraping the surface)? There's so much potential, and Microsoft has to deliver it.