I fully agree with George Colony on his thought provoking post. Just add me to the list of people who have been clicking and typing on the Microsoft platform for 15 years now.

[tag]Bill Gates[/tag] was probably the best thing that  happened to [tag]Microsoft[/tag]. But as all good things come to end, its time, Microsoft moves ahead.

Heres my analysis of what’s wrong with Microsoft:

1. Microsoft has become too predictable. The best thing about Bill Gates was that he was repetitive and yet innovative. I quote an example of Windows 95. It wasn’t something radically different. But the way it drove platform convergence on a users desktop…made it phenominal. And that was the reason for its success.
2. Always chasing Google. My appologies for being so blunt. Competing is not the same as following. When google came up with GMail. It was just an Email service yet it as so different. As a avid user, when I expect something from Microsoft, I expect an enjoying user experience. That how it has been at Microsoft.
3. Not leveraging it’s community.  Microsoft has by far the largest community of users. I believe most of the Google and Yahoo lovers themselves use Microsoft platform. Leverage that community. Integrate Desktop with online experience. Revive the magic of simplicity and ease that Windows 95 promised.
4. Missing the fizz of Innovation. Microsoft products and services are increasingly becoming stereotyped. Microsoft needs a killer App.

After, the yahoo debacle, I am sure Steve Balmer is taking his time out and spending his thoughts on what could best direction for Microsoft.

SOA product stacks have seen a lot of turbulence in past few years. The recent one that created ripples in the industry was Oracle’s BEA acquisition. That leaves us with a good question. It is over yet? Or we will witness some more action…

If one looks at the SOA stacks from IBM, Microsoft, Oracle and others, they pretty much have an offering to cover various aspects like Service enablement, ESB, BPM, BAM and Governance etc. Where I still see a void is with the tactical aspects of the game. The companies that are adopting SOA, are increasingly understanding the importance of Quality management of SOA assets and looking at ways to align the operations team to manage SOA infrastructure. The traditional testing methodologies and ITSM processes need an upgrade to support the company’s SOA vision. It is this void that will drive next level of consolidation. Vendors would want to enhance their existing offerings in this space by either enhancing their products or buying once that are already into this space. Not so recent acquisition of Mercury by HP has seen some action. HP has already come up with dedicated offering around SOA testing and Operations by bringing out that SOA flavor in their Quality Center and Business Availability Center. There are several niche players like Amberpoint, webLayers, ITKO Lisa and Parasoft that target Quality management aspects. These niche players could be easy targets of biggies like Oracles and IBMs of the world who want to boast of themselves as a single stop shop of all the SOA needs…