Windows 8’s performance is another weakness for the company. The OS has a lot of potential; however, it hasn’t been able to make much of an impact as of yet.
Opportunities
The Cloud division is still at its early stages at Microsoft and it is a segment where Microsoft can excel in the future. Its cloud based service should definitely pick up in the future and the company has an opportunity to make this into a profitable business.
While Microsoft’s late entry into smartphones is a major weakness of the company, its Windows mobile OS brings in several opportunities for the company to get a good market share in the future. While I still think partnering with Nokia was the wrong decision for Microsoft, people might just get tired of iOS and Android in the future, switching to the next best alternative of Windows phone.
While Windows 8 has not performed up to expectations, it definitely has a lot of potential and Microsoft could do wonders with the OS. The platform is still not stable as Microsoft has received a lot of complaints; however, things should go back to normal after the Windows 8.1 update. From touch screen laptops to traditional laptops to hybrid devices, Windows 8 can be a success if Microsoft makes it an OS worth using.
Threats
Microsoft’s biggest threat is the external threat of the weakening PC market. The industry is what Microsoft stood for previously and if the PC market crashes, then Microsoft will have to do a lot of thinking in switching towards other divisions of its business.
Aside from that, Microsoft’s biggest threats in the smartphones and tablets industry are Apple, Samsung and all the other Android device manufacturers. Android continues to dominate the industry and Apple has already come up with its latest iOS 7, which could further weaken Microsoft and Nokia’s current position in the smartphones market.
In the gaming division, Microsoft’s major competitor is Sony which has been improving under a new management. Microsoft has done well in catching up to Sony with the Xbox consoles; however, things might be over for the company after it unveiled its Xbox One console. Aside from being $100 more expensive than the PS4, the console’s second hand game policies have disappointed a lot of Xbox fans.
Conclusion
Microsoft is too big of a company to go down that easily. While the PC market may be declining, it will still remain huge for years to come. Microsoft did miss out on tablets and smartphones, but it looks like Microsoft might finally be taking the right decisions in improving its position in this particular segment
Microsoft’s late move will definitely affect its market share in the future, but the company still has several things to be optimistic about going forward. If Windows 8 picks up pace on hybrids as well as on laptops, and if Microsoft’s Windows Phone 8 can improve its market share in the industry before the end of the year, then Microsoft’s shares will go nowhere but up in the upcoming year.
The article Where Does Microsoft Stand? originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Yasir Idrees.
Yasir Idrees has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Apple. The Motley Fool owns shares of Apple and Microsoft. Yasir is a member of The Motley Fool Blog Network — entries represent the personal opinion of the blogger and are not formally edited.
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