With Microsoft supporting Nokia in their quest to manufacture inexpensive phones to be sold in developing markets and China, it may result in both companies losing their position in the US markets, succumbing under pressure from competitors like iOS and Android.
While expanding itself in the developing markets, Microsoft should focus on developing itself as the third major platform after Android and iOS; perhaps even try to successfully strike out one of its two main competitors. Even today, most businesses rely on services and products by Microsoft, like the Windows operating system or Office for instance. These businesses have had licensing arrangements with Microsoft in the past, irrespective of the fact that Google has constantly urged companies to opt for their applications and cloud storage services.
Unless something better comes their way, the chances of which look bleak, these companies are going to rely on Microsoft. It is in Microsoft’s hands to use this reliance to their advantage and create a Windows Phone environment that offers the same efficiency as Windows, along with added benefits. With respect to Office products, the Windows Phone already manages to surpass its competitors, offering users a clean user interface, document compatibility and allowing them to view and edit documents.
However, the Windows Phone platform is still struggling to create its niche in the market, with the operating system amounting to less than 5 percent market share in the US. Even their ‘Smoked by Windows Phone’ campaign, though highly innovative, has yet to register any positive impact on WP sales. The campaign saw Microsoft challenge iOS and Android phones to tasks at which the Windows Phone run devices were better. However, with Windows 8 set to be launched soon, Microsoft still has a chance to gather the interest of users and corner a healthy market share.
With the current mobile ecosystem lacking a fully functional VPN client for smartphones and tablets, users are facing difficulties with accessing corporate networks, editing files on the move and having them automatically saved on their hard drives for later use. A company like Microsoft can generate a flawless VPN experience, promote it brilliantly and have users flocking to their Windows Phone platform.
Analysts are of the opinion that Microsoft should focus only on developing their enterprise applications, as regardless of the price users are going to install Office on their systems, leaving services like Google Docs far behind. With Microsoft’s Windows Phone Office application already well appreciated, they can work on creating a desktop like experience for Windows 8 on tablets and smartphones without offering it to competitors, irrespective of the money they could earn by offering Office applications for iOS and Android.
