Features

UPDATED: Bill's Blog - Houston Calling

Bill Magee | Friday July 04, 2008



Filed Wed 9th July 08

A 30-strong Scots contingent joined 9,970 other partner-companies here at the annual Microsoft WPC here in Downtown Houston to hear Steve Ballmer layout the future, as the software giant's CEO broke off from intense behind-the-scenes strategising with billionaire investor New Yorker Carl Icahn to land the search web advertising business of Yahoo and take on Google.

Ballmer said the company's 650,000 global partner community expected the company to improve its offering in the marketplace. Microsoft had a good financial year (running July-to-June) - in some areas the best ever - but has no intentions of standing still.

Of the future he said Microsoft aimed to continue to combine the power of its core software into many new areas of internet services business. It is currently number three in the internet business but intends to be number one over time as Microsoft continues to 'invest with enthusiasm', as Ballmer put it.

This included launching a platform for the Internet cloud. Not getting rid of servers of course, but there is undoubtedly a need for change. It's all about developing and supporting rich applications development based on 'Click For Run' capabilities, across phones, PCs and TVs, at work and at home.

Ballmer maintained that everything will carry a notion of social networking, as the business model changes to embrace advertising, subscriptions and online transactions.

Here, it is fundamentally critical that Microsoft takes its partners with it as the company drives forward. Ballmer eluded to the Yahoo deal when he concluded by stating that Microsoft wants to be the leader in the search bjusiness .

Ballmer and Icahn have combined to kickstart takeover negotiations with a resistant Yahoo, but probably to buy solely the search web-advertising arm of its business, possibly for between $9bn and $11bn.

Analysts have described this latest move by Microsoft as a shrewd strategy with little downside risk, especially if it pulls off the search business acquisition and goes for Google.

Bill Magee

 

 

Filed Sunday 6th July '08

 

A record number of Scots tech firms ~ some WPC veterans others welcome new faces ~ have made the commitment to fly thousands of miles across the Pond, to attend what will be the largest and probably most significant Worldwide Partners Conference staged by Microsoft to date.

For the software giant this is the big one where over 10,000 partners descend on the Lone Star state to stay ahead of the game and competitors by learning ~ behind closed doors ~ what new innovations Microsoft has in store for them and the global marketplace.

As I write this at 33,ooo miles-plus high cruising speed during my Edinburgh to Houston trip, some of the Scots executives have already landed and helped their American cousins celebrate Independence Day.

On strict invite and as the sole UK busines and technology journalist attending this WPC, once on the ground it’ll be good to hear some sound common sense following all the broo hoo ha surrounding Yahoo’s “will they won’t they” link-up with Microsoft.

Time will tell. But I strongly suspect (and backed up by more than a few Valley and Wall Street pundits) that as it continues to carry out its executive soft shoe shuffle, Yahoo has got itself in a real guddle and privately regrets not making that particular move.

The Scots party, led by Raymond O'Hare, director of Microsoft Scotland, and Partner Manager James Henderson, are being eased in gently to the 4-day WPC that kicks off Monday, by visiting the Houston Space Center.

It’s already become urban myth that someone asked “Has it got a bar?” It might not only be that anti-gravity feeling a few experience before the 3-hour “spacewalk” is over.

Oh, I’ve been told we might be skirting the Guadalupe Mountain range ~ more likely to be Snow Mountain ~ as we make our descent into Houston.

I’ll keep you posted on how the week progresses..,

Bill Magee

 

www.microsoft.com

Digg this feature

Technorati tags:

More Features