Vlad Mazek – Vladville Blog

Microsoft WPC is a fun event, lot’s of information comes out and in typical Microsoft fashion, it’s always about the hope and potential of mostly unfinished or half baked ideas. That’s not necessarily a negative thing, as it provides for an elaborate ecosystem of solution providers that can develop and position the technology in a way that makes a difference for the end customer.

I guess most of the fear on the partner side is that Microsoft is getting a lot less half baked stuff and is relying less on partners to solve the “simple” stuff. That’s just the impression that I get.

Today looked different. You can sense a feeling of humility in the Borg collective. They have taken punches from all angles and some hard decisions (ie, cuts, firing, product drops) had to be made. It seems to have refocused them.

Even Kevin Turner, the embodiment of competitive Microsoft that doesn’t need anyone and is winning, seems clearly bothered that despite the advances Microsoft is making, they are hardly getting the credit for it. Lot’s of stats and numbers in that conversation, some damning for the competition – Microsoft laptop share is into 90% percent while Apple is around 7% – yet Apple gets all the press and all the fame.

In my humble opinion, Microsoft executives need to figure out how it is that all the buzz is around Apple and Google and how Microsoft is not even in the discussion. For Microsoft – who has the most elaborate partner program, the ecosystem, the marketing budget and the loyal following among partners and developers – what is Microsoft doing for it’s partners?

We all pay to come to the Microsoft WPC to find out what Microsoft is doing next, because we’ve been herded in a way that we should follow Microsoft. I think Microsoft is at a point where (given all it’s competition) it needs to start talking to it’s base and get it excited about it’s products again.

Which brings me to the highlight of the event: Bill Buxton from Microsoft Research is the person Microsoft needs to put front and center as it tries to “reboot” it’s offerings. Bill is an extremely passionate and excited guy that seemed to truly love the technology Microsoft is making – Microsoft needs more of that. Microsoft’s new chief, while I can understand is nervous and awkward on the third day of his new job, is nowhere near where Allison Watson was and has a long way to go. Things look good for Microsoft but there are a lot of if’s and big decisions they have to make. Don’t envy the position one bit.

Today was a mixed bag for Microsoft – in the areas in which Microsoft leads (Xbox, Messenger) it looks amazing. In the areas in which it’s following (virtually everything else in the consumer space) the future for Microsoft looks like the past of it’s competitors. To say that Windows Mobile doesn’t have a chance would be giving it a huge compliment.

Not really a business conversation at all, but as a Microsoft fan and junkie, here is a short summary:

Xbox – a-f’n-mazing. At first I thought this was going to be a poor man’s copy of Nintendo Wii but the demo of Halo and the little girl playing with the baby tiger made one thing clear – sell your coffee table and get a big cushy rug because you’ll be jumping all over the place and falling down a lot 🙂

Personal Cloud – Take on old Microsoft Mesh demo a few years ago, but a little less techy and a lot more appropriate for the mobile and devices. While the demo was quite cool and Microsoft has a chance here if it leverages ActiveSync, it has the iPhone problem – if it requires all of your friends to use all of the same stuff (like SkyDrive, Onenote) then write it off. Otherwise, it could be a game changer. It certainly will make your Microsoft devices far more friendlier and easier to use.

Windows Mobile Phone – Sad. The biggest applause was for the ability to edit PowerPoint. And that’s from 10,000 Microsoft salesmen and partner executives. It has all the stuff that made Zune a dud combined with what killed Windows Mobile. Oh, and HP was curiously absent from the mobile discussion as well.

To sum it up: When even your employees and your sales force can’t get excited abotu what you’re doing, you’re probably not doing it right.

I’m going to look on the positive side here: Microsoft Windows has a chance to stay around for a long. long time if it can link up the Personal Cloud and extend it beyond all-Microsoft sphere because it has no mobile chance.

Here is the summary:

We’re following Google to the cloud. Forget about Software + Services, just cloud.

Apple pretty much owns us as we missed the whole iPhone, iPad but we’re following.

We have a lot of money, so if you follow us you’ll make a lot of money too.

We know you’re scared about changing your business.

Oh, and I’m sure I’ll hear about the channel conflicts, competition, margins, blah, blah, blah, blah.

That last part is pretty much a verbatim quote from Steve Ballmer’s closing.

Wow. Anyone remember a few years ago (WPC 2008, Houston) when I posted that picture of the new Microsoft Partner Program – it was an action shot and the partner seemed to be in a bit of a pain from the “interaction”;

Be honest… how far off was I?

About a week from now I’ll be heading to Washington DC to the Microsoft WPC event.

I really, really, really don’t want to say anything negative about MSFT, but..

I also really don’t want to beat a dead horse – let’s just say that I hope Microsoft has something to show for itself this year and doesn’t retreat to what it’s already become: a depressed cash cow munching on the proceeds from Windows and Office while playing Xbox on the couch.

Bah.. Microsoft WPC used to be the event of the year. Now, having killed it’s partner program, my largest partners will not be heading to WPC at all. Partners – few and far in between, pretty much the same guys I see at all other events. What is sad is that Microsoft did this to itself, and I can pinpoint the exact moment at which Microsoft stabbed itself. Sadly, it was on the top of the game when it decided it no longer needed it’s partners.

Mistake #1: Microsoft decided to fight Google with an enterprise product. Gmail, even today, is a crappy AJAX webmail. It’s better compared to Hotmail than Exchange. Yet, Microsoft decided to position Exchange against Google Apps – thereby destroying any chance it’s partners had with Exchange in the SMB market to begin with. It’s clear (through many, many, many memos and messages) that Microsoft is OK just getting a $1 or $2 per subscriber with BPOS is better than getting $0 in the eventual fear that everyone will be on Google Apps.

Mistake #2: Microsoft decided it didn’t need the partners anymore. For all the time they spend trying to create all sorts of partner perks and engagements, it’s product & business divisions certainly stiffed it’s partner base: by setting their profit margins from them, by taking their clients on direct, by eliminating core products that the partners were excited about and finally, becoming extremely inconsistent with the business direction.

Who would have thought that the Microsoft mantra of “we will compete with everyone, everywhere, with blood on every table” would be the eventual samurai suicide presented as a spectacle through WPC keynotes from Ballmer to Turner?

Don’t get me wrong – Microsoft is our biggest partner. We want them to succeed.

However, we are not developing anything for the Microsoft platform. It’s all about iOS, Android and the web. We are spending more time working on development efforts with Google than we are with Microsoft. Our business is diverging from our largest partner, not by our own choice but by the market demand.

It’s sad to see such a rich and successful company so thoroughly mismanaged and misguided. You always need friends and partners. Every year, there are fewer Microsoft partners at WPC, and in a week I hope to see a reason to remain one. I really do.