Follow the Australian Telecommunications scene NEWSLETTER- FREE TRIAL
 |
 Stephen Withers turns his gaze on the world of Apple, with
detours into other aspects of IT and communications as they catch his
attention. |
Technology news and Jobs 
Our Blogs Core Dump Microsoft has hit bottom, set for rebound: analyst
Our Blogs Core Dump Microsoft has hit bottom, set for rebound: analyst | Microsoft has hit bottom, set for rebound: analyst |
|
| by Stephen Withers | |
| Monday, 27 July 2009 | |
|
Page 1 of 2   
Featured Whitepaper
5 Best Practices for Smartphone Support
It's not hard to see why Ovum characterised Microsoft's fourth-quarter and full-year results as dismal. Gross revenues were down 17 percent and 3 percent respectively. And net income was down 29 percent and 18 percent. Only stringent cost-cutting - including the first-ever layoffs at Microsoft - prevented even worse results, according to Ovum research director Warren Wilson. He reckons that a wave of new products from Microsoft could see its position improve later this year. To me, that's a convincing argument. After all, multiple products are set to be replaced in a relatively short timeframe. Windows 7 isn't far away. Apart from the upgrade business, a successful debut for the new operating system could release pent-up demand for new hardware. If customers had decided against switching to Vista, there were no compelling reasons for replacing PCs or notebooks across the board. Clearly, non-consumer customers will still need to come up with a viable business case for hardware or software upgrades, but the Windows 7 release candidate is apparently being received with an enthusiasm that Vista never manages to attract. Getting past Vista removes a significant obstacle to upgrades. Windows Server 2008 R2 will ship around the same time. New virtualisation and management features could spark renewed interest - especially as virtualisation is seen as a significant factor in reducing IT costs and energy consumption. What else is ahead? Please read on. |
| < Next story in category | Previous story in the category > |
|---|
