In a small way, I feel sorry for Steve Ballmer...
Category Microsoft
From Wired: Microsoft Wants 100 Companies, but to What End?
That "sorry" feeling doesn't extend to asinine comments like the one he made at the Web 2.0 Summit:
During his Q&A at the Web 2.0 Summit yesterday he made the ballsy claim that the company is prepared to purchase 20 companies a year, for the next five years.
However juicy the proposition may sound, one should still take heed. One thing Ballmer didn't state in his froth was a solid direction for all these purchases. He merely went on to say that the buys will be "good acquisitions . . .and they're of strategic importance." If we're keeping score, that potentially means that Microsoft is prepared to spend a lot of money over a five year stretch on companies that it hasn't seen yet, that will ultimately provide services or products that it hasn't identified yet.
OK... So I can say that I'll build 100 Domino applications over the next five years, they'll be good applications, and they'll be of strategic importance. Measured by what? And now I'm a prophet who can tell exactly what's coming down the road over the next five years, and that I'll be at the forefront of all of it? I can see MSFT now... "It's November 15th! We still need to buy 5 more companies! Go find some good acquisitions of strategic importance, quick!"
This is nothing but a soundbite with no substance behind it at all...
Where I *do* feel sorry for him, is that photographers must put their cameras on auto-shoot so they can capture the worst possible picture of the guy to lead a story. I mean, would *you* feel good to see a picture like this leading an article about you?
Guaranteed to give small children (and impressionable adults) nightmares...
From Wired: Microsoft Wants 100 Companies, but to What End?
That "sorry" feeling doesn't extend to asinine comments like the one he made at the Web 2.0 Summit:
During his Q&A at the Web 2.0 Summit yesterday he made the ballsy claim that the company is prepared to purchase 20 companies a year, for the next five years.
However juicy the proposition may sound, one should still take heed. One thing Ballmer didn't state in his froth was a solid direction for all these purchases. He merely went on to say that the buys will be "good acquisitions . . .and they're of strategic importance." If we're keeping score, that potentially means that Microsoft is prepared to spend a lot of money over a five year stretch on companies that it hasn't seen yet, that will ultimately provide services or products that it hasn't identified yet.
OK... So I can say that I'll build 100 Domino applications over the next five years, they'll be good applications, and they'll be of strategic importance. Measured by what? And now I'm a prophet who can tell exactly what's coming down the road over the next five years, and that I'll be at the forefront of all of it? I can see MSFT now... "It's November 15th! We still need to buy 5 more companies! Go find some good acquisitions of strategic importance, quick!"
This is nothing but a soundbite with no substance behind it at all...
Where I *do* feel sorry for him, is that photographers must put their cameras on auto-shoot so they can capture the worst possible picture of the guy to lead a story. I mean, would *you* feel good to see a picture like this leading an article about you?
Guaranteed to give small children (and impressionable adults) nightmares...
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Posted by Ben Poole At 16:18:13 On 20/10/2007 | - Website - |