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Technology Stocks : How high will Microsoft fly? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Duane L. Olson who wrote (32888)	11/8/1999 1:31:00 AM
From: Niels Larsen	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 74651

Hi, well no I think there will be much more software created because 1) reuse now becomes routine, instead of re-inventing, trying to get around patents by cross-licensing etc, 2) there will be new reasons for writing business software: to get the maintainance contracts and the fees for training people. The revenue from this form of business can easily replace that of selling binaries. When the executives see they are not so restricted anymore by what off-shelf software can do, then they are going to think up ideas pretty quick and hire someone to implement them, which is now possible because they dont have to rewrite the whole thing. One could argue that if company A sells fine software that it took a lot of work to create, then why should firm B be able to take it, change a few details and distribute it themselves? well, if company A doesnt want this to happen, just distribute the binaries; but if the software market changes globally as I think it will, then the application is just a commodity anyway, but the ticket to get the service. I mean if the people at firm B (the "ripoffs") dont have people who know their way in the code, then they cant support it and make money. Btw, doesnt Microsoft already have 1500 or 2000 people in support of Word, versus perhaps 100 or 200 coders? I am not sure of this, just what someone told me, but anyway, even MS earns lots of money already on support. The way he puts it, "our margins on software sales will decrease". That certainly isnt a reason MS will fare any worse though.