Microsoft fights back with hard numbers
Microsoft has come in for some harsh criticism of late, with Apple overtaking Redmond in terms of market cap seeming to set off a chain of negative stories about the company. Even I, as a admirer of Microsoft and user of its products, picked up on the vibe.
The problems are obvious: while Microsoft is seen to have run out of steam and ideas, its big-name rivals are upping their game. I am, of course, talking about Apple and Google, which are the two companies which have somewhat successfully moved in on Microsoft’s over the last decade.
Keen to halt this trend, and generate some positive publicity for Microsoft while having a few mild digs at the competition, the company’s Corporate VP of Communications Frank Shaw has posted a post on the Official Microsoft Blog which comprises some serious number-crunching.
The highlights of which (with added commentary) are:-
150,000,000
Number of Windows 7 licenses sold, making Windows 7 by far the fastest growing operating system in history.
Windows 7 has indeed been a phenomenal success, and this latest Microsoft OS finally looks set to take XP out of the equation. However, it should be noted that Vista didn’t do particularly well, so Windows 7 was always likely to sell well and quickly.
7.1 million
Projected iPad sales for 2010.58 million
Projected netbook sales in 2010.355 million
Projected PC sales in 2010.
When the figures are spelled out in this way the gap is truly startling. And it seems strange that the Apple iPad is getting so much publicity when it’s only a relatively small part of the overall computing equation. However, it’s about potential, and I’m in the camp which believes the iPad is leading a charge which will see mobile computing devices eventually outrank PCs.
24%
Linux Server market share in 2005.33%
Predicted Linux Server market share for 2007 (made in 2005).21.2%
Actual Linux Server market share, Q4 2009.
Linux was, for a time, expected to steal this market away from Microsoft. But it hasn’t yet happened, and the numbers suggest the trend is actually heading in the opposite direction.
$5.7 Billion
Apple Net income for fiscal year ending Sep 2009.$6.5 Billion
Google Net income for fiscal year ending Dec 2009.$14.5 Billion
Microsoft Net Income for fiscal year ending June 2009.
Market cap? Whatever. When it comes to actually earning money, Microsoft is still top dog, with new income totaling more than Google and Apple’s combined.
$23.0 billion
Total Microsoft revenue, FY2000.$58.4 billion
Total Microsoft revenue, FY2009.
Microsoft is dying, Steve Ballmer should go. Maybe, maybe not. But what’s clear is that revenue is actually heading in the right direction and has more than doubled since Ballmer became CEO. So maybe things aren’t quite as bad as many people, myself included, may have thought.
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It’s good to see Microsoft coming out fighting like this, but I suspect it will need to bring more than just numbers to upcoming battles. Still, it’s a start, and the numbers are nonetheless impressive.
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June 27th, 2010
These are old news.
Apple will supass Microsoft this year in both revenue and net income. Than, Ballmer will say that Market cap, revenue and income doesn’t matter
June 27th, 2010
Maybe Microsoft should put some of its money into real quality instead of fake “hard” numbers. You will be called upon more and more Dave, to go to bat for Microsoft. They are losing ground everywhere, even in places where they buy goodwill (Bing?). I expect to see shining “hard” numbers for Microsoft right up until their stock tanks. So does everyone else. Microsoft has been lying about their products and success for so long nobody pays attention anymore.
June 27th, 2010
MS is playing real now, they’ve been getting things right lately you can see it by the range of new developments and products they are concentrating their attention on are all consumer centric. Competition with Google have been making MS much more competitive than before (always good for consumer). And they are no way are a dying company, one must be a fool to think that way
June 28th, 2010
@Argon,
“[...] they’ve been getting things right lately [...]”
Oh, like the Kin? Like the debacle with Danger? Like the pathetic market share they’ve garnered with Bing, even when they’ve paid to try and curry favour? Like their abysmal record in mobile, where they are being hammered by RIM, Apple and Android, and where they are positively bleeding market share? Like the tablet fiasco, where they have abandoned their own product and ceded the market to Apple, whose IPad is going absolutely gangbusters? Like their relationships with their OEMs, with HP having ditched Windows 7 in favour of WebOS for tablet use, and with Dell having confirmed that it will be releasing a Chrome OS-based netbook?
To quote you again “[...] one must be a fool to think that way”. Right – a fool or a shill; or more likely both, since one would have to be a fool to play the shill for the clowns of Redmond.
June 28th, 2010
Windows Phone 7 is very very Super Rock and Wp7 is coming
Iphone 4g is now OLD.
Xbox 360 is ROCK
Kinect is Rock
Windows 7 is Rock
Bing is Cool
Live Essential is Awesome
Zune HD is amazing but is avaiable only in US
Office 2010 is ROCK
Windows Azure is Rock
Stay Tuned World
June 30th, 2010
PCs are a very big market right now with virtually no real competitor for Microsoft. Mobile phones are smaller but growing. However, there is a new competitor everyday and Apple’s one-size-fits-all strategy can’t help but leave someone out. Every computer maker in the world is designing their tablet. You don’t need “hard” numbers.
I do love the Microsoft spin though. Q1 numbers for iPhone? What happened to “projected 2010″ like above? Could it be that with everyone waiting for iPhone 4.0 that Q1 numbers represent the low-water mark?
Even better is bragging about going from 0 to 96% on netbooks. Remember how that happened? Microsoft said no more XP. Netbooks could not handle bloated Vista. Microsoft said you can use XP and we will sell it to you at a greatly discounted price. That’s not exactly corporate dominance.
My analysis of these numbers as they portray Apple vs Microsoft.
-WG