Bekker's Blog

Blog archive

Is Microsoft's OEM-First Attitude Hurting It in Mobile?

There's an interesting take on Ars Technica today called "The carriers are not your customers: the Windows Phone 7 update mess." Peter Bright suggests that Microsoft's history of treating partners well is hampering it badly in the smartphone market. Key quote:

"Microsoft is still treating the OEMs and carriers as if they were its customers. While they're the ones Microsoft is dealing with directly, treating them as the customer will kill the platform. The early-adopting end users -- the people who actually bought the platform, are buying the applications, and are encouraging their friends and families to follow suit -- have to be treated as king. But they're not, and they're not happy."

Bright argues Microsoft's missteps aren't fatal yet. Better communication could still help, he says.

Posted by Scott Bekker on March 14, 2011


Featured

  • Microsoft Appoints Althoff as New CEO for Commercial Business

    Microsoft CEO and chairman Satya Nadella on Wednesday announced the promotion of Judson Althoff to CEO of the company's commercial business, presenting the move as a response to the dramatic industrywide shifts caused by AI.

  • Broadcom Revamps VMware Partner Program Again

    Broadcom recently announced a significant update regarding its VMware Cloud Service Provider (VCSP) program, coinciding with the release of VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) 9.0, a key component in Broadcom’s private cloud strategy.

  • Closeup of the new Copilot keyboard key

    Microsoft Updates Copilot To Add Context-Sensitive Agents to Teams, SharePoint

    Microsoft has rolled out a new public preview for collaborative "always on" agents in Microsoft 365 Copilot, bringing enhanced, context-aware tools into Teams channels, meetings, SharePoint sites, Planner workstreams and Viva Engage communities.

  • Windows 365 Cloud Apps Now Available for Public Preview

    Microsoft announced this week that Windows 365 Cloud Apps are now available for public preview. This aims to allow IT administrators to stream individual Windows applications from the cloud, removing the need to assign Cloud PCs to every user.