Will Microsoft Repair Its Image, as Russia Move’s to Linux?
The Russian government recently made a surprising decision: to create a national operating system based on GNU/Linux. The motivation for this development is crystal clear: escaping the Microsoft Windows monopoly. Russia will gain two other huge advantages due to the shift: lower software expenditures and full access to the operating system’s source code. The source code access will allow any discovered security flaws to be quickly fixed. Russia appears to be following China’s lead. A few years ago, China also decided to shift to a Linux-based operating system known as Red Flag Linux. In this article, I will discuss some of the underlying issues that are causing countries, institutions, individuals, and governments to defect to GNU/Linux.
Redmond’s Image Problem
Though Microsoft recently posted an impressive quarterly profit rise, it is suffering from an acute image problem. This image problem arises from the common perception that users are locked into Windows by tactics that are often seen as questionable. Here are a few of these tactics:
- *Monopolistic control of the marketplace: You simply cannot go to any retail outlet and buy a computer with GNU/Linux pre-installed. If a GNU/Linux retail presence existed, I would certainly buy computers with GNU/Linux pre-installed and so would a lot of other people. Best Buy, Walmart, Target, and other retail markets will simply not stock anything other than Windows PCs and a few Apple computers. I anticipate that in a few years, someone very wealthy will correct this situation by starting a chain of GNU/Linux retail outlets.
- *Threatening organizations that provide free software/open source alternatives: This trend started in 2007 when Redmond claimed that GNU/Linux violated 235 of their patents without revealing which patents it was referring to. More recently, they “encouraged” a much smaller company, HTC, to pay licensing fees for every mobile phone that HTC shipped with Google’s Linux-based Android operating system.
The most critical image problem for Microsoft lies in item two above. Nobody likes a bully, especially a bully that acts from a position of absolute dominance such as the one that Microsoft’s monopoly provides. Retired basketball star Michael Jordan became a heroic figure for many not because of the fact that he beat so many people, but rather because he beat so many people from a perceived position of moral authority. People viewed him as a person who got to his position through hard work and dedication, so they revered the fact that he beat people that simply did not have the same drive that he did. The perception of Microsoft, however, is that the company beats market competitors by creating an un-level playing field where any competitor will always be at a serious disavantage. If the competitor offers a free alternative such as the Android operating system, they will be crushed by patent fees. If a competitor offers a computer system with GNU/Linux, they will be frozen out of the lucrative retail marketplace. Apples was able to bypass this problem by creating its own retail outlet mechanism with its Apple Stores. GNU/Linux will one day find a way to bypass this problem as well. However, for now, the problem remains, and it is part of the reason that Russia made its decision to switch. It is all a function of human psychology. When a person sees an individual win due to dedication and hard work such as Michael Jordan did, they want to identify with that person. They will buy jerseys with that person’s name on them, put posters of that person on their walls, etc. When a person sees an individual win by creating an uneven playing field, their subconscious thought is this: “If that person is willing to do that to their competitor to win, what would they do to me?” This create an aura of uncertainty and fear where the consumer feels compelled to use Microsoft’s products because they do not want to see happen to them what they just witnessed happening to Microsoft’s foe. When it has gotten to the level that entire nations are moving away from Microsoft’s products to escape this cycle, Redmond has to admit that that it has a significant problem on its hands.
How Does Microsoft Fix Their Image Problem
For a company, any problem always starts at the level of the leadership. Steve Jobs is a charismatic figure who is witty, engaging, and wickedly smart. Though I don’t personally use Apple’s products, I like him as a person, hence I like his company. Apple is a reflection of the person that runs it. I DO NOT hear about Apple threatening people with litigation, strong-arming people into paying patent licensing fees, and other coercive tactics. The reason for this is that Steve Jobs is smart enough to realize that there is a collateral cost associated with using such tactics. Each time a company takes such actions, their image with the buying public is slightly attenuated. Repeating such actions enough times, the company’s reputation can be irreparably damaged, as was recently demonstrated by the implosion of the SCO Group. Microsoft does not have a technical problem, they employ some of the brightest engineers in the world; they have a problem that is fundamentally based on a lack of communication. Steve Ballmer need to find a way to be more engaging and personally connect with the users (and potential users) of his company’s products. Microsoft’s founder and former CEO, Bill Gates, is doing some wonderful things with his charitable organization, but he is, unfortunately, no longer the face of Microsoft. Steve Ballmer is, and his face is not seen as particularly friendly. Here are 4 things that Ballmer and Microsoft could do to rapidly heal the company’s image:
- *Do something VERY big that is truly altruistic. Google is the master of this: donating $2 million dollars to Wikipedia, starting the Google Summer of Code Project, etc. Microsoft could instantly gain some credibility points if it did something that made people feel good, and came as a surprise to everyone.
- *I know that I’ll get some heat for this, but I will recommend it anyway: open source the entire Windows stack with the exception of the Windows kernel. GNU/Linux and other free software have a huge advantage over Windows: very low development costs. Free software wins in this regard because it uses a better software development model. This would be a very surprising development that would instantly win Microsoft a lot of much needed street credibility.
- *Send Steve Ballmer to charm school. I say this half-jokingly, but in all seriousness, the man needs to learn how to become a warmer and more engaging figure. He is the face of the company, so his personality and ability to relate to people really does matter. He needs to get out of the office more and be seen out and about talking to real people. Steve Jobs is a master of this. He literally has the press eating out of his hands when Apple hosts its product release “parties”. You can see how much people genuinely LIKE him.
- *Stop antagonizing GNU/Linux and free software. The fastest way that Microsoft could do this would be to release A LOT of source code under the GNU GPL version 3 license. After people got over the massive shock of such an unexpected action, they would seriously start to take a second look at their perceptions of the company. It is no secret that Redmond does not like the GPL version 3. You will not find any code under the license on the Microsoft-sponsored Codeplex Open Source Project website. They need to truly embrace what they are viewed as hating.
Russia is switching to GNU/Linux, that is an absolute certainty. They are 100% committed to the shift. I applaud them for the shift because I love GNU/Linux. However, as an American, I am also very proud of Bill Gates’ accomplishment: starting a small American company from scratch and transforming it into arguably the greatest commercial endeavor in the history of mankind. He set a very high bar for entrepreneurs to follow. I want them to recognize that the world has changed and I want them to adapt to that change instead of trying to keep the world locked into a 20th century mindset. GNU/Linux has an inherently better model that I believe is the future of software. The sooner that Microsoft realizes this, the sooner they can start to repair their damaged image.
