I've always had the belief that the Microsoft juggernaut would continue its slow decline in relevance as mobile and web devices removed the need for Windows, and the improvement of apps like Google Docs, OpenOffice, etc. would eat away at Office from the other side.
But I really think now we're approaching the point where their fall might happen swiftly. Chromebooks are fine for the majority of corporate users. And if they catch on, there is no need for any of the Active Directory / Azure tie-ons that MS has been hoping would pull enterprise customers towards Azure, Office 365, and all the rest.
And even if Microsoft can convince customers to stay, they simply won't be able to charge the same prices they've enjoyed for decades now with the overpriced Office, Server, and Client access licenses.
And once an enterprise moves away from Active Directory and Office, I don't see any benefit of using the very expensive Sharepoint, Outlook, OneDrive, and other apps that have always been overpriced, but worth it as they integrated well together and saved companies more money via lower IT costs.
Most modern businesses run on MS Office. For Google to really gain market share, they need to be able to run heavily formatted MS Powerpoint slides and Excel workbooks with VBA macros with no pain for compatibility.
Some small companies can currently go with Chromebooks and the Google office suite (assuming they don't share many files externally), but for big business the compatibility needs to be there to switch from MSFT. Big businesses can't afford to refactor every single spreadsheet in existence to make the switch. Currently I have 2 Excel sheets, a Word doc, and Outlook open. Excel specifically is the most difficult to port elsewhere. Backward compatibility and network effects are immense.
It is great for education and siloed businesses though.
Until then MSFT owns the space and can charge significant annual license fees. I dont see that changing in the next decade.
But I really think now we're approaching the point where their fall might happen swiftly. Chromebooks are fine for the majority of corporate users. And if they catch on, there is no need for any of the Active Directory / Azure tie-ons that MS has been hoping would pull enterprise customers towards Azure, Office 365, and all the rest.
And even if Microsoft can convince customers to stay, they simply won't be able to charge the same prices they've enjoyed for decades now with the overpriced Office, Server, and Client access licenses.
And once an enterprise moves away from Active Directory and Office, I don't see any benefit of using the very expensive Sharepoint, Outlook, OneDrive, and other apps that have always been overpriced, but worth it as they integrated well together and saved companies more money via lower IT costs.