Manufacturers in the IT sector have always envied Microsoft for its profits and the way it has grown into a gigantic company. It seems like an industry in itself churning out everything from softwares, phones, computers, watches, music players and what not. But, one cannot ignore how almost every of its product that has launched in the recent years has failed to keep up with market.

The latest and probably the biggest example happens to be the new line of smartphones with whimsical names that were launched a couple of months ago. Kin One and Kin Two, which were created after 2 years of endeavor by a group of engineers and executives, did not appeal to the masses. These phones landed with a bang; stylish designs and flashy networking features to prove that Microsoft could stay in tune with the changing trends and expectations of youngsters. But it seems that Microsoft tasted the opposite results. 2 months after the Kins arrived in stores, Microsoft is planning to lift them back and kill the product. This has been the quickest end to a product.

Surprisingly, it’s not only the Kins that failed. Microsoft has a long list of products which it launched and they flopped. It seems that because Microsoft’s software like Windows and Office have remained a standard for people worldwide, they have attributed to a vast pool of money with Microsoft which it uses to experiment wherever it pleases. The Kin failure clearly reflects how Microsoft struggles to keep up with the youngsters who are obsessed with technology.

There have been many other products which have failed miserably

Xbox 360:The gaming console and its complimentary online services have been a rare hit with people. The game addicts have rather stuck to its counterpart PlayStation.

A line of intelligent watches: They came and they were gone. The watches only ended up in a joke.

Tablet PC software products.

Windows Vista operating System: This one didn’t seem to see the dawn of mass acceptance as Microsoft itself offered to load Windows7 in the laptops which carried Windows Vista as the default.

Zune music player: With too many music players already doing the rounds, this one seemed to be unappealing.

Courier Tablet PC: The Company cancelled the project shortly after Apple iPad hit the stores.

 

Many reasons have been cited which have caused Microsoft to become a mocking stock of the IT sector.

Lagging behind the times: Microsoft starts working on a product, but many companies come out with a similar product even before Microsoft has chalked down its launch process. People writing software have turned their attentions to platform like Google and Apple.

Fading ability to intrigue and attract software developers: Microsoft seems totally off the radar of the cool, hip, cutting edge software developers.

Growing popularity of open Source Software : A majority of startups today rely on free, open source softwares rather than Microsoft’s , so young students who are soon going to look for jobs start embracing open source software. Also, many types of software are available at no cost. Startups which are generally under-capitalized; buying Microsoft software becomes problematic.

 Countering the problem:

Microsoft created a pair of programs that gave students free access to Microsoft’s business and developer software. It allows start ups to run operations at no cost over a period of time.

However, a real absurdity in this case was that Microsoft required the startups to meet some guidelines whereas free softwares generally don’t require that. They are simply downloaded and used.

Fresh Computer Science Graduates who look for other avenues:

Microsoft spends huge amounts of money catering to a vast network of companies and people that base their livelihoods on improving and supporting people that based their livelihoods on improving and supporting Microsoft’s products. Fresh computer graduates seem to be flocking away these days.

However, if the overall numbers and who buys and uses the Microsoft products are looked at; its track record is pretty good with all the demographics. This clearly shows that though Microsoft must have been lowly when it comes to the technology and innovation; Microsoft has been accepted by a major population as a regular feature. Microsoft has now reassigned the Kin development team and put them to work on Windows Phone 7, another platform which Microsoft is planning to bring out later this year.

Ritika Kharbanda/ITVoir Network