“Office for iPad is off to a promising start as it ranks in the top listings in the App Store’s ‘top grossing apps’ category,” E. Werner Reschke writes for T-GAAP. “”
“The view outside of the beltway suggests Nadella won an internal struggle answering the question whether to expand Office’s reach to the dominant tablet player — Apple’s iPad,” Reschke writes. “In doing so, he has also given the nod to the iPad as a legitimate business platform — which no doubt was Ballmer’s hang-up. Ballmer seemed hell-bent on ensuring the iPad failed and that Surface succeeded. However, while many may think that Nadella has solved a major problem and revenues will start to pour in, he’s really just created a larger question.”
“Is Microsoft a software company or an operating system company?” Reschke writes. “That question is the fork in the road which will determine Microsoft’s future.”
Read more in the full article here.
Related articles:
We can live without Office for iPad – March 31, 2014
Ihnatko: Office for iPad a boon for compatibility with business, but costs $100 a year forever – March 28, 2014
Microsoft’s Nadella to Apple’s Cook on Office revenue sharing: Drop dead – March 28, 2014
Apple takes their usual 30% cut of Microsoft’s Office for iPad subscriptions – March 27, 2014
Microsoft releases hobbled Office for iPad; requires $100/year subscription to create/edit documents – March 27, 2014
Microsoft CEO Nadella to use his first press conference to talk a lot about Apple – March 27, 2014
Microsoft Office for iPad: 5 big questions – March 26, 2014
Microsoft CEO Nadella expected to finally admit holding Office for iPad hostage a failed strategy – March 26, 2014
Microsoft Office on iPad: Too little too late? – March 23, 2014
iPad generation shuns Microsoft Office; one of Microsoft’s biggest squandered opportunities – March 14, 2014
Apple makes the world’s most advanced operating system freeware – October 23, 2013
Apple’s new free OS X for Mac hurts Microsoft and the Windows PC industry in myriad ways – October 22, 2013
Apple exploits Microsoft’s confused hesitation on Office for iPad – October 22, 2013
Apple’s OS X Mavericks available today free from the Mac App Store – October 22, 2013
Apple releases next-gen 64-bit iWork and iLife apps for OS X and iOS; free with new Macs and iOS devices – October 22, 2013
Microsoft will be pulled along by Office for iPad as Windows is marginalized.
I agree – Windows (thankfully) is facing a very dim future in CE.
Meanwhile AAPL stock struggles while MSFT is hitting new highs
The stock market is disconnected from reality. If you haven’t figured that out, you shouldn’t be in it.
Not according to the clueless Windows fanboy loons out there. These guys are certifiable, and I don’t mean a Microsoft Certified Solutions Expert.
Minesweeper and Certified Solitaire Expert… get it right.
I stand corrected.
Regardless of any feelings about MS Office itself, releasing it for the iPad was the right choice – and will definitely help MS maintain their relevance in the enterprise. Personally, I kinda like the apps. They’re very well designed, and except for missing print capability, very full-featured. Much easier on the eyes and to use than Office for the desktop.
More like a spork in the mud….
I was thinking more in terms of fork in the eye.
Bill Gates’ original vision of Microsoft is finally coming true: as just another software developer for Apple’s platform!
The biggest question is how many new subscriptions to office 365?
I never heard of microsoft’s fork in the road. I heard of their knife in the back ..I just never realized they had a fork.
I wrote about this in 2012…..
Let’s see if some of my views become correct:
http://carlomazzini.blogspot.com/2012/05/future-of-microsoftof.html
Disclaimer: I’m definitely not a Microsoft fan, not I own any stock, interest, or anything “monetizable” from Microsoft 🙂
Windows free since 1998!! (Well, now I have a Nokia phone, but I don’t know if that counts….)
MS has been forking people for years!
Stick a fork in Mircoshaft. They’re done.
It’s pathetic that in my line of work (software consultant) that I have no choice but to use the frigging MS Office suite. Many of the tools I use are integrated with Office.
That said, until the business community finally gets the message, this love affair with this hapless suite of crap will continue. Personally even on the Windows platform, Office is failing – it is getting too convoluted for its own good, and just more confusing for the average user. Office for iPad is more of the same, and too little, too late. And to use it you have no choice but to buy into Office 365.
The fork in the road, as someone previously pointed out, is definitely been stabbed in MS’ back. Here’s hoping that MS will continue on this downward slope, even faster than before, and we can all move on enjoying iWork – which is more than enough for most of us.
An operating system is software.
Wow. It’s a top grossing free app. Sounds like typical Microslut logic.
Seems like Microsoft is following Yogi Berra’s advice: “When you come to a fork in the road, take it.”
Or the spoonerism “When you come to a torque in the road, fake it.”
“Is Microsoft a software company or an operating system company?”
Really? That’s their big dilemma? As if this is something new for MS. Their problems run much, much deeper.
Stupid question, stupid conclusion, stupid article. I’m surprised this even got reposted here.
Comic relief?
I thought an OS was software. Where’s the fork?
What I like about Satya is that it appears he’s not afraid to confront harsh realities and make decisions. Ballmer couldn’t disconnect himself from a Windows-centric worldview when everyone knew that the world was changing.
While it may not mean more revenue for Microsoft in the short run, this new direction may mean relevant longevity for Microsoft in the long run.
Bill Gates Road Ahead clearly took a fork to Ballmer nowhere-ville.
The book should be filed alongside dianetics and other feeble minded nonsense.