Microsoft: seven main events of year

Attempts of Microsoft - to adapt in the market of calculations where the personal computer gives way to tablets and smartphones are known, and the set of problems of the company arose directly because of these movements in the market recently. However, according to Paul McDougall, you should not draw points from account of Redmond – in 2011 in an asset of Microsoft there is a number of convincing victories though it was not also without punctures.

Seven brightest actions of Microsoft in the expiring year

1. Purchase of the company Skype was undoubtedly the correct solution. In May Microsoft announced reaching an agreement in the transaction on acquisition of Skype for $8.5 billion. Tools and VoiP services will enter idle time, widely used functionality of video communications to a number of products of Microsoft, including Office and Office 365, Windows Phone and Xbox, and in the future – tablets Windows 8. It can give to Microsoft acceleration concerning such competitors, Google as well as Apple which, perhaps it is even necessary to pay Redmond for right to use of Skype in some of platforms.

2. Still tablets are not released that, undoubtedly, is a hard error. If the current season of festive purchases can prove something, so the fact that 2011 - year of tablets. Marketing researches show that touch tablets from Apple, OEM manufacturing on the Android platform and also Amazon with its Kindle Fire will be "hot pies" under a fir-tree this year. As for Microsoft, it still speaks about tablets in future time. The strategy of the company for these devices is closely connected with Windows 8 which can not be issued until the end of 2012 or even till 2013. Attempts to occupy a share in the market can become senseless by then.

3. Kinect for Windows is undoubtedly the correct course. In parallel with retreat of the PC on a background, Microsoft it is necessary to find a method to recover a franchize of the main product - Windows OS. Perhaps, it is solved tools which will allow developers to port the Kinect applications with Xbox on the PC. Kinect by the machines Windows will cause emergence of a number of new applications, from entertainments to production aspects, use in the field of health care. Some developers of the University of Washington already use this technology for creation of systems which will allow doctors to perform by means of gesticulation operations by means of miniature surgical instruments.

4. Failure from Zune. Here and smart move and error. Microsoft officially stopped a distressful franchize of the Zune in October. It was smart as Zune was included into category of a MP3 players and as a brand, it will not be approved with the new mobile strategy of Microsoft based on Windows Phone 7. The error is that this process took a lot of time – too long life of Zune was supported artificially, and long ago it was time to send it to a dump.

5. Start of Office 365 – without doubts the right decision. In the cities of Los Angeles and Washington passing to G Suite (before Google Apps), Microsoft needed to react to cloud proposals of her competitors. She made it, having started Office 365 in June. The functionality of Office 365 has interrelations in applications of office activity with communication opportunities. They include access to Office Professional Plus, Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, Lync Online and Office Web Apps.

6. Billions enclosed in Nokia Corporation were an error. At the beginning of year of Microsoft and Nokia concluded the bargain according to which the Finnish mobile phone manufacturer will refuse Symbian and will install Windows Phone as OS by default practically on all the mobile devices. At first sight, it looked the good transaction for Microsoft, considering that Nokia still supplies to the market of phones more than any of producers in the world. But it turned out that Microsoft will pay actually Nokia billions of dollars for use of Windows Phone. Usually OEM manufacturing pay for right to use of software on the equipment.

7. The transaction with SUSE of Linux can be regarded as the smart solution. In July Microsoft announced prolongation of the agreement according to which it buys "certificates" of support and Linux SUSE services and resells them with a margin to the clients of Windows working in the mixed environment. Microsoft, claiming that Linux violates its patents, also undertakes not to make claims to owners of certificates for violation of the law. Such arrangement allows the company to get profit on the claims on Linux and not to irritate clients.