The country’s economic outlook is not quite promising. In fact, many companies are currently facing different challenges such as reduced consumer spending as well as rising competition. Agreeably, such businesses need to change their strategies in order to stay afloat. Microsoft is a leading IT company. Over the years, the company had dominated computing platforms through its innovative and user friendly operating systems. Windows operating systems have been powering many personal computers and devices over the years. in fact, the company is among the most valuable in the whole world. In the recent past, however, it has faced challenges when it comes to the sales of some of its products.
In particular, the fall in its first quarter revenue by 25 percent marks a challenging reality to the company’s fortune. The problem facing the company, which is marked by the dwindling sales, is as a result of complicated business dynamics that the company must tackle. The following discourse addresses the problem which the company faces, which is a drop in its sales. In addition, the discussion proposes a realignment in its operations by focusing more on emerging trends such as cloud computing, smartphone and tablet software, as well as improving services on its platforms such as Bing. When such an approach is embraced, the company is bound to register growth in terms of software revenues and earnings from advertisements.
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"A Critical Analysis Of Microsoft’s Strategy".
Microsoft’s problems stem from what can be termed as the dynamisms in technology. With the advent of computers, the company became a leading software manufacturer. In fact, it dominated computing software for a very long time. Even at present, its Windows 10 runs on more than 250 million computers in less than a year after its launch. The figures point to a dominant player in the market. However, due to shifting interests, and emerging alternatives, people are now more into smartphones, tablets, and other portable devices. The challenge also comes from the fact that Microsoft’s mainstay has been on providing software for personal computers. Therefore, the realignment of consumers’ interests is one of the challenges that the company currently faces. With more people opting for portable devices, which run on other software, the sales of the company’s software has been on a decline as seen by the near 3 billion reduction in the net value of its sales.
Every business needs a good management to steer itself into profitability. On this, Microsoft is in the able hands of its CEO, Satya Nadella. With good management, a company is bound to achieve profitability. In typical organizational settings, the highest hierarchy has the task of identifying problematic areas in a bid of coming up with the best solutions to the problem. In this regards, the company will rely so much on its management to tackle the challenges that it currently faces.
The change in strategy involves targeting products which perform the best in the market. As at now, the company’s cloud computer services are arguably among the best performers, when it comes to product segmentation. Other than that, its flagship search engine, Bing, has been witnessing a steady growth the increasing number of users implies that the company’s potential in the market is very high. In addition, the launch of Windows 10 has shown a positive response from the users. With increased number of users, the company has a firm grip in the market. Therefore, it would be advisable for the company to focus on its strengths. Therefore, in this regards, it should consider expanding the reach of services such as Bing and cloud computing.
In addition, Microsoft should strive to promote its portable devices. With consumers changing their preferences, it is advisable that company goes along with the emerging trends. Therefore, it should invest more on software for portable devices. On this, it is bound to face competition from other industry players such as Apple Inc. and Google. However, the company’s main advantage comes from its grip of the market. Besides, it has the resources to spearhead the changes that it wants. In this regards, it can engage in intensive research and development with the objective of coming up with the best products which meet the desires and expectations of its consumers.
The given changes will impact on the company in different ways. Firstly, its earnings will evidently increase. With improved earnings, the fortunes of the company will change in great ways. By focusing, and producing, fewer products of high value, a company becomes more profitable. One of the main demerits of the move is its relatively high costs; the technological advancements that the company ought to adopt for their products are normally very expensive which normally leads to a hike in the prices of the products manufactured. Partly, even R&D and innovation departments needs to spend large sums of money on innovative technicians to come up with new ideas. Therefore, with better earnings, all these will be actualized. In the end, the company will regain the market control that it has had over the years.
