Barney's Blog

Blog archive

Microsoft Gets Gartnered

If you want attention, you must do something outrageous, even if it's falsely outrageous. We have Madonna kissing Britney, celebs purposely leaking risqué tapes, and now Gartner publicly questioning whether Microsoft is still relevant. And, like a dope, I'm falling for the Gartner bait.

At a recent Gartner event, analysts grilled Stephen Elop, head of the MS business division. These know-it-alls argued that Microsoft hasn't adapted to the new world and still pushes fat clients and monolithic applications.

Now, I also believe in leaner software, but let's look at a few facts. The Mac -- a good, old-fashioned fat client if I've ever seen one -- is the gold standard for many as to what's cool. And while I believe Office is bloated and unwieldy, it remains the standard. (Its open source rival, OpenOffice, is not much slimmer and it's doing just fine.) Microsoft is moving to Web-based apps at about the same speed as IT -- slow and steady.

If these Gartner analysts are so smart, why aren't they running Microsoft? As they say, those who can't do, analyze.

Am I too rough on the self-inflated eggheads from Gartner? Tell me where I'm wrong at [email protected].

Posted by Doug Barney on October 28, 2009 at 11:53 AM


Featured

  • Microsoft Mesh for Teams Coming in October Preview

    A public preview of Microsoft Mesh for Microsoft Teams will arrive next month.

  • Azure Database for MariaDB Ending in 2025

    Microsoft will "retire" its Azure Database for MariaDB service on Sept. 19, 2025.

  • Orgs Now Getting the New Outlook for Windows

    The new Outlook for Windows 11 app is now at the "general availability" release stage for personal users, but it's also "enterprise ready."

  • Four New Microsoft Surface Devices Unveiled at Event

    Four new Surface devices for businesses were announced during Microsoft's fall hardware event.