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Has the "Sea Change" Really Arrived?
November 15, 2005

In an October 30th internal memo, Microsoft's Bill Gates declared that a massive and disruptive "sea change" was upon us as business is rapidly shifting from traditional software to Web-based software and services. If this is true...and if Bill Gates says it's true then there must be something here...this will cause a seismic shift in how business is done and how services and software are provided. This shift has the potential to create business leaders from Internet startups and business laggards from some of our biggest and most important companies.

Companies like Google, Sun (yes, Sun is a client of MWW Group) and Salesforce.com have the potential to dominate the next generation landscape while companies like Microsoft and IBM Software will need to quickly change their business models, or risk losing their market leadership. Even as Microsoft is about to introduce an entire new line of products, one has to wonder if this will be the last time they undertake a major launch of a significant new product that is sold in a traditional box on a brick and mortar store shelf. Watching this battle will be fascinating...in a relatively short time, Google has clearly established itself as the 800-pound gorilla while the previous king, Microsoft, is all of a sudden struggling to find its way...one of the most interesting news stories in the next 6-12 months will be watching the moves that Microsoft takes to retain its leadership and transfer its incredible brand equity to this new Web-based model, through Windows Live or other efforts. How well the company does this will determine its future and the future of many other companies. The business world is undergoing fundamental changes again ...what new players will rise to prominence and which companies will be yesterday’s news will be intriguing to watch.

Posted by Michael Kempner at November 15, 2005 10:29 AM