Microsoft Plans Steady Stream of Evidence

Computerworld - The first Microsoft-commissioned analyst report on Linux emerged last November, and it took 10 months for the second one to see the light of day.
But the company has a strategy to present a steady stream of evidence on topics such as the cost, security, interoperabilty and reliability of the Microsoft software platform compared with the Linux stack, according to Martin Taylor, general manager of platform strategy at Microsoft.
During a recent interview with Computerworld, Taylor said Microsoft plans to use "credible third parties" in its quest to make sure that customers view its commissioned studies seriously. He added that the studies are "super, super expensive."
"If it's Martin Taylor Consulting that did the study, then you should raise your eyebrows. But Gartner, Meta, IDC -- these folks have some credibility at stake as well, so we can't buy a study. We can't say, 'OK, well, make it work in our favor,' " he said.
Taylor said it's also important to post the process, methodology and tool set used, so customers can run their own tests or results to do further analysis. "Transparency" is also critical, he added.
The Microsoft-sponsored white paper released last year by Framingham, Mass.-based IDC, for instance, stated that Windows 2000 offered cost savings of 11% to 22% over a five-year period in the areas of network infrastructure, print serving, file serving and security applications. But the report also noted that Linux had a 6% cost advantage in the Web serving area.
"Maybe the Apache guys should send me a commission check," Taylor cracked.
Taylor said he recognizes "the damned if you do, damned if you don't" scenario he finds himself in as he tries to get out fact-based, credible information with the caveat that a report has been commissioned by Microsoft. But he said he knows of no other way to tell the story.
"If the third-party analyst won't sign up for it on their own, I don't know how else to get my message out there," Taylor said.
Microsoft's latest attempt to get out the "facts" about Linux began with a conversation about frustration, said John Rymer, an analyst at Forrester Research.
Rymer recalled a discussion that he had with two Microsoft marketing officials. He said they told him, "We're getting creamed over statements about Linux, and we just don't think it's a complete picture, and we don't think it's accurate. Would you be willing to take on a study?"
Rymer said the Microsoft officials initially wanted to look at the J2EE environment, buthe convinced them they should first survey users to see "where the lion's share of the activity is."
"They were a little uncomfortable, because they didn't know what we were going to come up with," Rymer said, "but we persuaded them that it's the best way to go."
Rymer said the Microsoft official was firm that the report not take a slanted approach, since the company really does need to better understand the Linux phenomenon. If the result were negative, Microsoft could simply choose not to publish the report.
Taylor said Microsoft can work with analyst firms on the publishing, but he added, "Again, these are pretty credible folks, and the data is the data. Numbers are numbers."

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