“Microsoft’s client revenue–Vista and XP came in below expectations–and the company cited three primary reasons: A tough comparison from year ago levels, OEM inventory build and piracy. But the elephant on the conference call may have been Apple and its Mac,” Larry Dignan writes for ZDNet.
“Microsoft’s three reasons for the client malaise are all legitimate. What’s curious is that piracy–always a big deal for Microsoft–was mentioned 12 times on the conference call by CFO Christopher Liddell and analysts, who were following the software giant’s lead. The takeaway: Microsoft is facing tough growth comparisons and any blip in piracy levels can be the difference between Vista and XP hitting Wall Street targets. If Microsoft didn’t need that extra percent of growth or two it’s unlikely we’d get a conference call where piracy chatter was dominant,” Dignan writes.
Dignan writes, “But let’s dig deeper: Could it be that the real elephant in the room was Apple?”
“It remains to be seen whether Apple can be a real enterprise player, but it doesn’t have to do much to be a thorn in Microsoft’s side. All Apple has to do is nibble and it will be harder for Microsoft to hit its client revenue growth targets–especially against tough comparisons,” Dignan writes.
Full article here.
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