Posted on Saturday, 18th August 2007 by LMN
Microsoft has just released what will likely be its last iteration of Windows as we know it. The software juggernaut is maturing and a few of its grey hairs are showing. So, as Microsoft passes through another phase of maturity one has to stop and ask what lasting lessons have we learned.
During my regular morning read of the daily news last week I ran across the story about Microsoft’s recent stunt announcing the release of their new Vista operating system. They used colorfully dressed acrobats to scale the walls of a seven story building in downtown NY and hang the Microsoft Vista logo on the side of the building. From the pictures, I got the impression that I was watching the Blue Man Group meeting Richard Branson on its way to the Cirque de Soleil - a fitting stunt for a marketing savvy juggernaut.
But, as the maturing Microsoft reacts to a marketplace that is becoming more web focused with customers that increasingly expect products to integrate and operate with little hassle, one has to wonder. Can Microsoft turn the surreal into reality and make the shift?
Historically, Microsoft has tightly bundled its functionality, provided little customer service, and released software with more than a few bugs. On the face of those facts it is easy to predict that Microsoft doesn’t possess the DNA to survive in the new web based environment where functionality is unbundled in the form of widgets or gadgets, and customers have the power to easily uninstall if it is not working as expected. Keep in mind that Microsoft’s software has proven to be so buggy that it has spawned a cottage industry managing its patches and security flaws. Norton, McAfee and others make a hefty sum shoring up Microsoft’s security breaches.
Of course, Windows is not the sole culprit when it comes to security breaches. The computer is much more than the operating system, and Microsoft is not the only software inside the box. When you connect that with the fact that Windows was released in 1987, 4 years before the internet was publicly available and we are still using the core of that system today, it’s nothing short of astounding.
Even more astounding though is the sixth sense that Microsoft had that the general public would willingly pay for something less than “perfection” when it came to their software. This approach to product development demonstrates an understanding that “perfection” is a judgment call made only by the customer, and that very rarely is there a price premium for “perfection”.
In fact, all for-profit businesses strive to find that point where their product or service is just “good enough” - to sell in the market place, to fight off the competition or both. No business enterprise wants to give away too much. That’s why we so often see different classes of the same product (e.g. ipod nano, ipod Shuffle, ipod) with added features and a corresponding tiered pricing structure.
As Microsoft rolls out what will likely be its last version of Windows as we know it, the lesson that it teaches us is that being “good enough” can really be “enough”. If a company defines “good enough” from its client’s point of view and delivers that solution, then the company is on its way to becoming good enough… to be great.
Growth is Good!
Leamon Crooms
The Guru of Growth®
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