Bill Gates' legacy: A modern day Henry Ford

TalkBack 29 of 30:

Next »

« Previous

• Thread View
• Flat View

Is the Henry Ford comparison more apt than we think?

Henry Ford did, indeed, place the automobile in the reach of the North American middle class.

He also presided over the growth of the largest car manufacturer in the world, at the time.

Until...

By the late 20s and early 30s GM had taken over as the largest car manufacturer and seller by doing things differently and better. GM was never bound by "any colour you like as long as it's black" Model T philosophy. (This is not to say the Model T was a bad car for its time by any stretch of the imagination.)

The analogy then, could be stretched (if painfully) to Microsoft and the position it finds itself today. It still stands over the computing world like a giant but there are competitiors out there now who they are having increasing difficulty dealing with. Google, Linux, (for the moment) Apple and others don't seem affected as much as older competitors did.

Microsoft doesn't seem anywhere near as inventive and nimble as it once was or its partners are a lot more careful than they used to be about being embraced, extended and extinguished out of existance.

It suffers from the syndrome that, sooner or later, affects all monopolists or near monopolists that there is nowhere to go but down. It's arrogant almost beyond belief.

At some point, like Ford Motor Company, it will become one among many. Still strong, powerful and influential but no longer able to dictate the market.

I think that point is coming sooner than most think it is particularly the more vocal Microsoft defenders out there.

The reason this is such an important and, often, passionate event is that Microsoft did, in fact, succeed in "a computer on every desk" goal. There would be no Linux debates or OSX debates without it.

While late to the World Wide Web party it did sort of get it; Microsoft never dominated that sphere as they have the desktop and laptop.

They never have dominated the mobile space and there seems little chance they ever will.

All of this is nothing but good for us as users to have Microsoft competing with something and someone other than just themselves. And for Microsoft too.

Microsoft isn't going to disappear nor would I want it to. It does have to adjust to a world it didn't, for all practical purposes, invent as it did for the desktop/laptop.

That seems a difficult adjustment for them to make as it was, for different reasons, for Henry Ford (and, as he's been mentioned, for Thomas Edison).

Microsoft's biggest challenge now is to adjust to a competitive world and platforms that aren't beholden to them and are, frequently, downright resistant to them.

It has to learn a new set of rules.

ttfn

John

Posted by: TtfnJohn   Posted on: 06/27/08 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use

Alert moderator to an offensive message

Subscribe to this discussion via Email or RSS

SponsoredWhite Papers, Webcasts, and Downloads

• Three Steps You Need to Know to Stop Data Loss Varonis Sensitive data exposed to misuse or loss... it is the stuff of nightmares ... Download Now
• The True Costs of Virtual Server Solutions VMware In an economic environment that is repeatedly heralding the message "do ... Download Now
• Five Steps to Determine When to Virtualize YourServers VMware Server virtualization isn't just for big companies. Entry-level ... Download Now