经济学人下载:重振雄风的微软(1)

Leaders
来源于《社论》版块

Microsoft
微软

Rebooted
重振雄风

What the software company’s surprising comeback can teach other tech giants
这家软件公司出人意料的东山再起能给其他科技巨头带来什么启示

It must feel good to be back on top—and this time, almost liked. Twenty years ago Microsoft was considered an evil empire, scheming for domination and embroiled in a bruising antitrust battle with America’s Justice Department. Five years ago, having dozed through the rise of social media and smartphones, it was derided as a doddery has-been. Now, after several stellar quarters—this month it reported revenue of $33.7bn, up by 12% year on year—Microsoft is once again the world’s most valuable listed company, worth over $1trn. How did Satya Nadella, the boss since 2014, pull off this comeback? And with American trustbusters starting on a new review of “search, social media, and some retail services online”—ie, Google, Facebook and Amazon—what can the other tech giants learn from Microsoft’s experience?
回到巅峰感觉一定很好，这一次，几乎爱惨了。20年前，微软被认为是一个邪恶的帝国，图谋垄断，并卷入了与美国司法部的激烈的反垄断斗争。五年前，随着社交媒体和智能手机的兴起，它一直在沉默，因此被嘲笑为老态龙钟。现在，在经历了几个出色的季度之后，微软再次成为世界上最有价值的上市公司，市值超过1万亿美元。2014年上任的萨蒂亚•纳德拉是如何让微软东山再起的？随着美国反垄断机构开始重新审视“搜索、社交媒体和一些在线零售服务”（指谷歌、Facebook和亚马逊），其他科技巨头能从微软的经验中学到什么？

First, be prepared to look beyond the golden goose. Microsoft missed social networks and smartphones because of its obsession with Windows, the operating system that was its main moneyspinner. One of Mr Nadella’s most important acts after taking the helm was to deprioritise Windows. More important, he also bet big on the “cloud”—just as firms started getting comfortable with renting computing power. In the past quarter revenues at Azure, Microsoft’s cloud division, grew by 68% year on year, and it now has nearly half the market share of Amazon Web Services, the industry leader.
首先，准备好超越金鹅。微软错过了社交网络和智能手机，因为微软痴迷于Windows操作系统，而Windows是其主要的摇钱树。纳德拉上任后最重要的举措之一，就是取消Windows的使用。更重要的是，他还在“云”上押下重注——就在企业开始适应租用计算能力的时候。上个季度，微软云计算部门Azure的营收同比增长68%，目前其市场份额接近行业领头羊亚马逊网络服务的一半。

Second, rapaciousness may not pay. Mr Nadella has changed Microsoft’s culture as well as its technological focus. The cult of Windows ordained that customers and partners be squeezed and rivals dispatched, often by questionable means, which led to the antitrust showdown. Mr Nadella’s predecessor called Linux and other open-source software a “cancer”. But today that rival operating system is more widely used on Azure than Windows. And many companies see Microsoft as a much less threatening technology partner than Amazon, which is always looking for new industries to enter and disrupt.
其次，贪婪可能不会带来回报。纳德拉改变了微软的文化和技术重心。对Windows的狂热注定了客户和合作伙伴会受到挤压，竞争对手会被打发走，而这往往是以一种可疑的方式，这导致了反垄断的摊牌。纳德拉的上一任将Linux和其他开源软件称为“癌症”。但如今，这个竞争对手的操作系统在Azure上的应用比Windows更广泛。许多公司认为，与亚马逊相比，微软是一个威胁小得多的技术合作伙伴，亚马逊一直在寻找新的行业进入和颠覆。