Microsoft’s former CEO has admitted that the company missed the boat on mobile in the last decade.
The Wall Street Journal reports that Ballmer, speaking at the Saïd Business School at Oxford University, UK, admitted that in hindsight the company should have adopted a different strategy.
“We would have a stronger position in the phone market today if I could re-do the last 10 years,” he said, adding that the Nokia acquisition would be vital to Microsoft’s future. He said his toughest business decisions had related to recruiting the right people for Microsoft and letting go the ones who hadn’t been the right fit.
Ballmer noted that, being a 4% stakeholder in Microsoft he still has a vested interest. “I care a lot about my child and my investment, and therefore the investment of the other owners of our company,” he said.
There’s no doubt that Microsoft is still paying for the mistake and playing catch-up, but the future is potentially bright. Kantar published a recent report citing Windows Phone as exhibiting the fastest growth of any mobile platform globally.
Interestingly, Ballmer also questioned current tech movements and trends, drawing attention to Facebook’s acquisition of WhatsApp for $19 billion.
“Is it a fad? Well probably not...I don’t know whether they’ll be successful or not. Will that asset ever be worth anything? Will those 450 million people ever generate enough revenue?”
“Reasonable people,” he said, “Zuckerberg – believes so, and no reason to doubt it.”
by pbriden via Featured Articles
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