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Our business is one of interdependence: our operating systems need applications,
applications need operating systems, and both need hardware to run. The promise and demand
of high technology is so far flung and interrelated that the idea of any single company
effectively addressing each problem and seizing each opportunity is unrealistic. Right
from the start, we made the decision that to best succeed with our operating systems, we
would need to work with hardware manufacturers and application developers outside
Microsoft. Their success would enable ours, and our success would enable theirs.The concept works. We work closely with PC makers
like Dell, Compaq, Quantex, and Siemens Nixdorf. And we also work with 100,000 more PC
makers and independent hardware vendors (IHVs), ensuring customers that the systems they
buy will be well-tested, highly functional, and compatible. In software, we communicate
the information independent developers need to make sure that their products achieve
optimal results on the Windows platform. Some are focused on electronic commerce and
tools, like Commerce One. Others, like FileNet, are transforming the way companies will be
able to manage documents, no matter what form those documents take.
Our focus on core technologies like
operating systems demands a huge commitment in talent and resources. And in order not to
short-change the potential for our operating systems by neglecting applications
development, we have always worked with PC makers, IHVs and ISVs, the independent software
vendors who invest their time and resources in developing applications with the same focus
and expertise we place on our operating systems. By encouraging more development on our
platforms, we have realized two key strategic goals in a single stroke: in supporting
independent hardware and software makers we have helped strengthen the popularity of
Windows while, in turn, we have helped create a growing demand, large enough and dynamic
enough to support thousands of independent companies worldwide. After all, the way most
people truly experience their computing is through the hardware and applications they use.
Without a rich selection of hardware and applications that run on our operating systems,
there would be fewer compelling reasons to choose Microsoft.
This cycle of mutual benefit represents
the real value of open standards. For PC makers, IHVs, and ISVs, it means new
opportunities and open access to a growing customer base. To customers, it means more
choices at lower prices. For us, it means an enormous pool of talent focused on products
that run on our platforms.
Win-win-win. On the PC and IHV side, we
work closely with manufacturers in optimizing system design, ensuring that our operating
systems deliver the best possible performance, and that we move forward in concert,
communicating new ideas and sharing the concepts that will create the next breakthrough in
performance and price. Together, Dell and Microsoft have helped make dell.com the most
profitable Web site in the world.
On the applications side, we are focused
on helping ISV startups succeed. In the past year more than 1,200 startups have engaged in
the MSDN™ ISV Startups Program, a part of MSDN, the
Microsoft Developer Network. We made a direct investment of our time and effort to provide
these new companies with exposure to the venture capital community and product exposure to
potential customers. We also support the developer community by providing access to the
timely, comprehensive resources developers need to stay ahead of the curve, and we offer
opportunities for developers to interact and exchange ideas with each other and Microsoft
through conferences such as the Microsoft Professional Developer’s Conference,
Microsoft TechEd, and Microsoft Developer Days.
By working with independent hardware and
software developers we’re doing more than building a business. This strategy is
building an industry capable of helping small and big businesses realize greater return on
their technology investments. Their products and ours will fuel the growth of electronic
commerce and the success of the Internet as a commercial vehicle. Taken as a whole, our
relationships with others in our industry represent one of the most formidable forces in
high-tech. It requires nothing less to make the ongoing promise of technology a reality. |
