A daily digest of IT news, curated from blogs, forums and news sites around the web each morning. We highlight the key commentary and demystify the real story.
Despite dire predictions, Microsoft's end-of-year results show that its revenues and profit are bigger than Apple's. The two companies' stock prices don't seem to reflect that, but whoever said the market was that simple? The Windows, Office, and server businesses each had a barnstorming Q4, which may ease the pressure on Steve Ballmer. In IT Blogwatch, bloggers show us the money.
Your humble blogwatcher selected these bloggy morsels for your enjoyment. Not to mention Obama's dog flies solo?..
(MSFT) (AAPL)
As Gavin Clarke reports, "the big money maker was Windows":
Windows helped nudge Microsoft's ... revenue performance up 23 per cent to $16bn for the quarter, with income growing 48 per cent to $4.5bn. ... Sales of Windows jumped 43 per cent during the ... quarter, to $4.54bn. ... Twelve months back, it was a completely different story. Windows sucked Microsoft down into its [biggest] revenue decline.
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Microsoft's Server and Tools, Online, Office, and Entertainment and Devices divisions ... all saw revenue growth. ... S&T grew 28 per cent to $1.54bn and ... Office - Microsoft Business Division - was up 20 per cent to $3.2bn. ... For Microsoft's full year, the company reported a 28 per cent increase in [profit] to $18.7bn.
Dan Nosowitz looks through Windows:
It's good news for the giant, despite all that talk about Apple passing them in market cap. ... Microsoft sold a whopping 175 million Windows 7 licenses to date. ... 7% more licenses sold than PCs [which] indicates a healthy upgrade trend.
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In addition, Microsoft noted ... that while the US PC market has improved for Windows machines, emerging markets ... like China and India, are the site of much of Windows 7's growth.
Yeah, what about that Apple comparison, Ross Miller?
The gang in Redmond is still beating Apple in both revenue ($16.04 billion vs. $15.7 billion) and profit ($4.52 billion vs. $3.25), but that margin feels smaller than it used to. ... Windows Phone 7 has a lot to prove, and fast.
Preston Gralla looks to the stock price:
There are those ... who believe the company's stock price is being held down by Steve Ballmer's poor stewardship ... what they call the "Ballmer discount." And there's evidence that ... Microsoft insiders would like to see Ballmer go.
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The complaints ... are familiar by now. ... Microsoft has fallen behind the competition in every important growth market. ... [It] is dependent on Windows, Office and similar backwards-facing revenue sources, not ones with big growth. ... There are also those who don't appreciate Ballmer's style, which some call overly confrontational and autocratic. ... Microsoft would be better with more visionary leadership. ... But I don't expect a palace coup any time soon.
Philip Elmer-DeWitt puts the stock price into perspective:
Apple's market capitalization ... continues to outpace Redmond's. The total value of its shares now stands at $235.7 billion, compared with Microsoft's $226.46 billion.
Todd Bishop outs Office and Servers:
The launch of Microsoft Office 2010 boosted ... Microsoft Business Division ... to $5.2 billion in revenue, up 15 percent. ... Microsoft is making a push into cloud-computing ... the company sought to address concerns that online versions of its programs will cut into its traditional software revenue ... 70 percent of new "seats" for its Business Productivity Online Suite "represent new business."
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In another positive sign for business technology spending ... Server and Tools ... division posted revenue of more than $4 billion, up 14 percent.
Meanwhile, the anonymous Microsoftie behind the Mini-Microsoft blog blogs:
The glow of Windows 7 has dimmed and Office 2010 and the VS2010 eco-system need to pick up the steam. ... Apple is rolling in the moolah being a content delivery channel and our story, other than some Xbox features, is still pretty fuzzy.
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Windows Media Center is one of those crown jewels we've let plop out of the crown and get kicked around the court. ... It seems to be a neglected feature, caught in the chop between E&D / Zune and Windows. After a phone, it's the next experience we should bring out some reference hardware for.
Richi Jenningsis an independent analyst/consultant, specializing in blogging, email, and security. A cross-functional IT geek since 1985, you can follow him as @richi on Twitter, pretend to be richij's friend on Facebook, or just use good old email: itbw@richij.com.
