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Small Business Growth Strategies - Microsoft's Steve Ballmer Presents

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Posted by John Beveridge on Apr 19, 2012 11:35:00 AM

Windows 8I recently attended a presentation by Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer at the Northern Virginia Technology Council’s Titans of Technology series.  Ballmer is a very energetic speaker and he enthusiastically presented his vision of the future of Microsoft specifically and information technology generally.

Microsoft’s growth strategy is heavily focused on cloud computing.  Ballmer opined that we are in the very early stages of the cloud computing era and that as the cloud develops, it will become easier to create and sell new ideas.  This is very much in keeping with our opinion that there has never been a better time to be a small business – barriers to market entry are shrinking daily. 

Ballmer presented a brief demonstration of Windows 8 – the next generation Microsoft operating system.  Key elements of Windows 8 include: 

  • Windows 8 will operate in the cloud and synch across all of a user’s devices.  For example, you could take a picture on your Windows 8 smartphone and go home to find it already in the Pictures folder of your PC.  Some of you may be familiar with Microsoft’s SkyDrive product – it will play a large role in Windows 8’s cloud platform.
  • Windows 8 will make it much easier for users to use tablets (slates in the Microsoft terminology) like they use their PCs – all of the apps such as MS Office will be available across all of a user’s devices.
  • Windows 8 will include a new start screen with customizable “tiles”, essentially a larger version of the icons currently being used on Apple and Android devices.  This is Microsoft’s latest iteration of their user interface; it will be interesting to see how competitors evolve their user interfaces as Windows 8 is rolled out.
  • Windows 8’s core infrastructure will be built around the concept of public and private clouds.  For example, Ballmer mentioned that he has information on his device that’s shared through the public cloud (like photos) while Microsoft’s earnings and other financial information that hasn’t been released publicly is in a private cloud accessible only to those who have been granted access.
  • Windows 8 has been designed to work equally well with tablet and smartphones as well as with traditional mouse and keyboard devices.  It will be compatible with all Windows 7 applications. In fact, a user can change his interface to the Windows 7 platform if they so desire.

All in all, the Windows 8 product is a foundational shift for Microsoft.  This “early adopter” will jump on board when Windows 8 is released.

 Some of the broader topics Ballmer discussed were:

  • Microsoft purchased Skype because they saw it as a platform from which to develop their communications products.  This will break down geographical barriers for small businesses and include features like meeting documentation, user control of what/who they see in a video conference and a “whiteboarding” feature.
  • Big data will be used on a real-time basis to recognize who we are and what we want.  Ballmer gave the example of MGM in Las Vegas using big data in their casinos to customize offers to patrons based on their prior purchases.  He also predicted that big data will push to the living room and provide a user-customized television experience.
  • Ballmer predicted that data security will transform from protecting the device (e.g. – anti-virus software on your laptop) to protecting the information.  He gave the example of how Microsoft Office products use information rights management to allow a user to determine who has access to files and e-mails.  Microsoft spends approximately $1 billion per year in information security research and development.

Everything I heard Ballmer say supported my firm belief that it’s a great time to be running a small business.  Innovators who leverage these shifts in technology will be able to provide a customized business solution for their customers while their large enterprise competitors look for ways to standardize their solutions in order to support their unwieldy corporate infrastructures.

Let’s all leverage these new technologies as part of our small business growth strategies.

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Topics: Business Management

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