June 07, 2004 Opinion: Why Microsoft Is The New IBM By Barbara Darrow Courtesy of CRN Something interesting happened on the road to and from software dominance. Microsoft, which always delighted in displacing the old farts of technology, has become an old fart itself. Yes, ladies and gents, meet Microsoft: the new IBM. What once seemed a hungry, always-working-the-angles product powerhouse now seems increasingly set in its ways and downright stodgy. Case in point: When asked how Microsoft will fix its enterprise licensing debacle, a spokesman professed disbelief that there's even a problem, saying the program is right in line with how Oracle does things. So here's a high-ranking PR person actually citing Oracle (Oracle!) as an exemplar in corporate licensing. That would have been unimaginable from the old Microsoft. Another example: A SQL Server product management-type discounts MySQL out of hand. He never sees the open-source database in any mission-critical deployments, it sneaks into corporate accounts, blah blah blah. Does he not remember this is exactly how SQL Server started out not all that long ago? Maybe he better talk to some of his elders. A longtime solution provider partner, when asked if he's noticed attitudinal changes in Redmond, is practically struck dumb by rage. "They're bureaucratic, they're repeating themselves, and they all think they're geniuses," he said. This is not good feedback for a company supposedly obsessed with customer and partner satisfaction. Unprompted, a Microsoft insider puts it bluntly: "We've become IBM." For a company legendary for internecine battles over strategies and features, pushback is no longer encouraged or even accepted, at least on the marketing side, this insider said. Microsoft execs spend an inordinate amount of time detailing their curriculum vitaes at events. Another partner said there is a paranoia that if you haven't been with the company 10 years, you better prove you can play with the big boys. As for IBM, it's seen huge software marketing success with WebSphere and Linux, although it's unclear how profitable those efforts have been. It has been aggressive in its middleware attack on Microsoft and its battle to woo ISVs away from the Redmond camp. Time will tell if that elephant really can dance. Can Microsoft regain its edge? Barbara Darrow is industry editor at CRN. Contact her at bdarrow@cmp.com. E-mail This Story Print This Story Reprint This Story			Oracle President: It's Business As Usual Oracle Gets PeopleSoft, At Last PeopleSoft Battle Moves To Next Phase Takeover Attempt Could Drag On For Months PeopleSoft Board Rejects Oracle Takeover Bid, Despite Shareholder Support Oracle Makes Late Pitch For PeopleSoft Shareholders Editorial and vendor perspectives Now that Oracle has completed the takeover of PeopleSoft, what should its top priorities be? Meeting with customers to understand their concerns and priorities     32% Integrating the respective product lines     13% Giving clear direction on where the combined company is headed     51% Other     3% Oracle's Customer Crusade Company outlines ambitious program to develop a suite of merged software.