Microsoft, as a Brand, Loses Ground

In my work as an IT professional I have been seeing this for some time.  Microsoft is not the ubiquitous presence it used to be.  Windows operating systems have their place and will be around for a long time, however, more and more IT departments, faced with tight budgets, are looking at more open source and free software solutions.  When I started in my current position we had seven Windows 2000 servers handling newsletters and other mailings.  I was able to convert two of them to Ubuntu Linux servers online with Postfix.   Those two servers now do the work of the seven and they do it better and faster. 

That was just one example of a free software solution replacing a proprietary Microsoft solution.  There are more alternatives every month.  When Microsoft embraces the idea of "forced obsolescence" the way it has with Vista they are bound to take a hit in people’s opinions.  There is a reason places like Tiger Direct are doing a brisk trade in older models of PC’s and refurbished units that run Windows XP Home or Pro.

The company where I work has purchased fifteen desktop computers with Windows XP Professional since December of 2007.   

When the alternative either something like this: Intel Pentium 4 2.80GHz, 512MB RAM, 40GB HDD, DVDRW, 10/100 LAN, Windows XP Professional for $249.99 or a Vista Business machine that will provide the same work experience for easily twice the price its easy to see why Microsoft is not making anyone jump for joy. 

I know I write about Linux a lot, and some people know that if Linux were not an option I would be a Mac user.  But I also try not to sound like a knee jerk MS/Windows basher.    As you can see from my Yahoo! Answers history, I spend a lot of time helping Windows users and I realize that Windows is the best solution for many people and many businesses.  There are things I like about Microsoft products, but most of the them have existed since Windows XP was released over half a decade ago and the rest came with Office 2003 five years ago.  Unless Microsoft starts getting more creative and comes up with new and innovative features that people can’t find in Linux or OSX, their decline is sure to continue.

From Study sees Microsoft brand in sharp decline

According to the CoreBrand Power 100 2007 study, which polled about 12,000 U.S. business decision-makers, Microsoft dropped from number 12 in the ranking of the most powerful U.S. company brands in 2004 to number 59 last year. In 1996, the company ranked number 1 in brand power among 1,200 top companies in about 50 industries, said James Gregory, CEO of CoreBrand.

CoreBrand measures brand power using four criteria. It first rates the familiarity of a company’s brand. Once a company has a certain level of familiarity, they are ranked according to three "attributes of favorability": overall reputation, perception of management and investment potential, Gregory said. While Microsoft’s brand is still eminently recognizable, the company is declining in all three favorable attributes, he said.

Gregory said that a decline in and of itself is not indicative that a company is losing its mindshare or reputation among customers. However, what’s significant in Microsoft’s case is that the decline has been consistent over a number of years, and has plunged dramatically in a brief time.