For years, tech giants like Microsoft, Apple, Google shared the “world’s most valuable” platform with social networking giant “Facebook” and eCommerce giant “Amazon”. They all seem to be thriving with no possibility of slowing down soon. But, people may be interested in knowing which company would collapse if the time came. That’s the purpose of writing this article. I too wanted to know which company would have the higher chances of collapsing. And, I had to pick Microsoft. Below are the reasons why I think so:
1. 6% Dip
Microsoft succumbed to a 6% year-over-year decline. And, the Microsoft product that occupies the lion’s share of the blame is Windows Lumia Phones. Microsoft, in association with Nokia, only sold 110 million phones. The number is totally eclipsed by the sales of iPhones and Android Phones. 4.5 billion iOS and Android phones are sold worldwide within the same period. The company discharged nearly 8,000 employees as a result of the decline in phone revenue. Microsoft also moved away from the idea of producing Lumia Phones. But, it took quite a long time to recognize the lack of want for Windows Phones. It is believed that the longtime CEO, Steve Ballmer, failed to reconcile with the growing smartphone and tablet market. And, that’s the reason why he might have lost his job.
2. The End Of PC Industry
The demand for PCs — laptops and traditional desktops — is declining over the last three years. Since the majority of traditional PCs is Windows-operated, the sharp decline of traditional PCs struck Microsoft most. Last quarter, Microsoft’s Windows OEM suffered a 22% dip in revenue. Since more and more customers are relying on their phones and laptops for their computing needs. The problem with their choice is they don’t rely on Windows-run phones for those needs.
3. Bing Continues To Be A Failure
Bing remains a huge bump on the road for Microsoft. Despite investing billions of dollars since Bing’s inception, it produced no substantial revenue for the company.
Slow Growth of Microsoft Cloud Services – Microsoft wanted to compensate for the declining Windows Revenue by boosting its cloud services. It posted 3% growth since its inception. But, Microsoft isn’t satisfied with this slow growth. It expects the cloud services to grow faster.
4. Edge Is The Last Nail On The Coffin
Microsoft’s Edge browser introduced many appealing features, such as swipe to navigate, extension support, support for notifications, and many more! But, the attractive features aren’t enough to prevent its fall. The browser proved ineffective to compete with Google’s Chrome or Mozilla Firefox. The combined users of Edge and Internet Explorer continue to drop, ending August 2016 by 32.54%. Moreover, Microsoft ended its support for older browsers. As a result, it paved the way for a more massive drop in the number of users.