Getting Microsoft executives to admit that the company is plotting a transition from traditional software to Web-based services is like getting President Bush to talk up his timetable for withdrawal from Iraq. But this week, the first cracks in the stone wall of silence appeared. No, not with Mr. Bush. With Microsoft.
Microsoft, which was once one of the fastest-moving and customer-centric companies on earth, has fallen on hard times lately. Sure, the company is still raking in revenues and profits, but its traditional money makers--Windows, Office, and Windows Server--are still its only money makers, while its Internet services, video games, mobile devices, media players, and other offerings are still wallowing in massive losses and lost market share. Microsoft was widely criticized for not seeing the shift to the Internet a decade ago, but today, the company faces a similar issue: Increasingly, customers are turning to Web services-based solutions. And all Microsoft really offers is services that link up to, yep, Windows, Office, and Windows Server.
