Releasing a “better Windows” and just another tablet wouldn’t be enough

Microsoft announcement of it’s own Windows 8 Tablet makes some buzz these days , but frankly it didn’t caught my attention that much until I read this article by Adam Hartung from Forbes “Microsoft Win8 Tablet is NOT a Game Changer” (http://www.forbes.com/sites/adamhartung/2012/06/18/microsoft-win8-tablet-is-not-a-game-changer/).

I am not going to paraphrase this very well documented article but I would like to highlight some points of this analysis.

First Mr Hartung defines Game Changers as something which “meet newly emerging, unmet needs, in new ways”. We are talking about just another tablet - many other tablets are already available - which operating system is just “designed to be a better Windows”. So no disruptive innovation in any ways. Then Mr Hartung is developing the idea that “Windows 8 is trying to sustain a dying market”.

We can say at least that Forbes isn’t very friendly with Microsoft and its CEO these days (It named Steve Balmer as the #1 CEO who should have been fired http://www.thephoenixprinciple.com/blog/2012/05/oops-5-ceos-that-should-have-already-been-fired.html)
Still we should admit that Microsoft strategy for mobility is quite questionable. After failing by themselves in the mobile music competition (Zune), they started to build strategic alliances with companies which were leaders in their markets but are in great difficulties now in order to launch products and services willing to prove people that Windows is still the solution for everything.

• First Nokia is failing to reverse the trend in smartphones and is laying off employees again because it cannot compete with Apple and Samsung+Android.
• Then Microsoft tries the same strategy with Barnes & Noble which is being killed by Amazon.

In a nutshell, Microsoft is late on mobility and strategic alliances with companies which used to be leaders can’t help them if they are not able to launch disruptive or over performing products that could be the next “game changers”. It’s not likely to append while they keep focusing on extending and defending the Windows product line.

On the same topic :
Microsoft’s Surface Tablets: Why Windows Is Its Own Worst Enemy by Sarah Rotman Epps

Innovation versus Evolution