The Giant Still Rules
Microsoft continues its domination of the system software market thanks to the launch of Vista OS. But the rest are girding up as well
Shashwat DC
Friday, August 01, 2008
The Giant from Redmond might be under some pressure across the advanced markets due to a variety of reasons ranging from anti-trust to free software; nonetheless it continues to rule the Indian software market. Though there was a single percent drop in Microsofts market share, much like last year, it continues to command more than double of all Linux strains put together. The crucial factor in continuing reign is the arrival of Vista in India.
The Indian consumers have lapped up the operating system. Since the consumer launch in January 2007, nearly 180 mn Windows Vista licenses have been sold worldwide, and the adoption of the OS in India has already crossed over 2 mn units (consumer + enterprise) and growing at quite a high rate.
The reasons are not hard to guess. With every launch, Microsoft keeps enlarging its reach and even though it has over 13 offices across India; it has set up a distribution network that spans across the country. In fact one of its major focus is the SMSP (Small and Mid-Market Solution and Partners) space, for instance in India, Microsoft is working with over 3,500 partners only for the SMBs.
And even though it might have a robust channel strategy in place, it is constantly exploring new ways to reach out to the consumers, be it LFRs (large format retails) or online. Slashing prices for retail packs of Vista consumer editions was another strategy to attract traction. This benefited individuals purchasing Vista stand-alone copies. The price reduction varied from 13% to 39% and was applicable only for Vista Home Basic, Home Prem ...