Yeah, thusfar, MSFT hasn't been in ERP significantly, but I suspect that they will be. One of Microsoft's main strengths is taking a solution that someone else thinks up, copying it, and commoditizing it. I don't claim that they'll take away existing ERP customers. They way they'll do it is by taking out the middle-tier customers that ERP vendors are hoping will be their future market.
I think it's dangerous to assume any huge software niche is "MSFT-safe". Look at the revenue that MSFT has to pull in to continue its current growth rate, and look for existing software niches that are large enough to help them achieve it.
As for the no-pretense idea, I don't think that will last for long. They claim NT is an enterprise system. They claim Plato is an enterprise system. Once these systems are successful, it isn't that large a jump into the ERP area. The threat probably isn't going to materialize next year, but I suspect within 3 years it will be a real possibility. Plus, think about how, after they own a strong all-NT ERP system, they can claim NT is an enterprise OS. The benefits go both ways.
Thanks for that thread suggestion! There are some interesting points.
Richard |
