Microsoft 2.0: How Microsoft Plans to Stay Relevant in the Post-Gates Era | 
| Author: Mary Jo Foley
Publisher: Wiley
Category: Book
List Price: $27.95
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Avg. Customer Rating:  8 reviews
Sales Rank: 43396
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 304
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.1
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.9
ISBN: 0470191384
Dewey Decimal Number: 338.76100530973
EAN: 9780470191385
Publication Date: May 5, 2008
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Product Description
Microsoft 2.0 is about Microsoft's future, not its past. The coming years will be challenging ones for the Redmond software kingpin. Many of the executives currently leading the Microsoft charge are likely to go their own way. Technology will continue to advance at a breakneck pace. Microsoft will forge deals of the size and scope it previously never envisioned in order to keep pace. Foley doesn't claim to possess a crystal ball, allowing her to predict flawlessly what Microsoft plans to do in the next few years ? or even few months. But based on the many Microsoft executives, partners, customers and competitors with whom she converses regularly, she is sitting in a good spot to make some fairly educated guesses that will be most interesting to her readers. This book describes the Microsoft people, products and strategies that will be key for the next-gen Microsoft. Foley uses her professional experience to piece the puzzle together in order to reveal a reasonable, educated guess as to what Microsoft 2.0 will look like as it enters the next decade and beyond.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 3 more reviews...
 Excellent Insight August 24, 2008
I just finished reading MJF's book last night. Microsoft 2.0 is a fascinating and exceptionally well written read. It provides remarkable insight especially given that it's written from the outside looking in. Possibly the most interesting section is the part that discusses the next generation leadership and their projects. A book like this had to have been very difficult to write in that its forward looking and the winds of technology change constantly (i.e., Yahoo deal). I came away from reading this book with a better understanding of the direction MSFT is trying to go.
Valuable information for an analyst August 12, 2008
Mary Jo Foley has made a valuable contribution to investors and stock analysts. This books makes it easier to understand Microsoft's background, which kinds of business models does Microsoft employ to make money, and the future evolution of these models. This book is helpful if you are going to estimate future cash flows and calculate the intrinsic value of the company. Whichever tools do you have to your disposition as an analyst, this one is a worthy addition.
The author has done great job summarizing miscellaneous (and sporadic) sources of information like various speeches, blogs, and articles. She has also used Microsoft's SEC filings like annual and quarterly reports.
First, she introduces the reader to terms used by Microsoft, e.g. what is "eXperience", "S+S", "Office Live" and so on. Rather than copying vague definitions from the website, she really makes the reader to understand what lies behind these terms in a neutral manner.
Then, she focuses on key people of Microsoft, near-term products of Microsoft, and then devotes the most of the book to the business models. She is not a Microsoft insider and didn't have support from Microsoft key people while writing this book, thus she uses neither overly optimistic nor pessimistic voice: she is quite neutral. The fact that she is not an insider is also good because she doesn't have to do any promises that she have to keep.
There is a useful "annotated reading list", which list blogs which you might want to read to keep in touch with Microsoft. This section also lists some books, but they are quite old and are interesting only in historical perspective.
The only disadvantage of this book is that is somewhat small: more analyses and figures would have been useful for better understanding of the business models of Microsoft.
 A must-read for any Microsoft Watcher worth their salt June 27, 2008
Few people have covered Microsoft longer and more consistently than Mary Jo Foley (besides maybe Ed Bott). A couple of weeks ago, MJ sent me a copy of her new book Microsoft 2.0: How Microsoft Plans to Stay Relevant in the Post-Gates Era (PS, thanks for the mention in the Acknowledgements, MJ), and I thought it would be appropriate to get my review online this week, before BillG finishes cleaning out his desk.
Microsoft 2.0 is a look deep inside the bowels of the Beast, from a perspective that only Mary Jo can provide. But don't expect a sweeping fictional narrative of Microsoft's future, this is a fact-based, thorough (though at times a tad dry) walkthrough of virtually every aspect of Microsoft's business. Foley leaves no stone unturned, and no business model unexplored.
Aside from some brief parts about the on again-off again-on again-off again-on again Microhoo nonsense saga (which she later explained in a blog post), MJ does very little prognostication. Most of that is because Microsoft made the extremely unwise decision to instruct MS employees not to cooperate with her interview requests. Its really too bad, because they could have had the opportunity to inject a lot of insight to a book that is getting a lot of coverage in the wake of Gates' departure this week. But I guess if Microsoft was able to clearly define their strategy to the public, there would be less of a need for this book to fill in the gaps, so I guess it is a Catch-22.
But, this is the real reason for her approach, in her own words:
[Some of my colleagues] wanted e to make the case that Microsoft has lost its Evil Empire crown and soon will become nothing more than a footnote in the tech industry. And they wanted me to go to the trite "narrative nonfiction" route, putting "likely" dialog in 'Softies mouths, to do so.
I can't do it. I find that style of writing affected and offensive, for one. But more importantly,that's not how I see things evolving. Yes, Microsoft is at a crossroads. But to me, crossroads isn't synonymous with dead. I know not everyone agrees.
Just when you think its over, MJ pulls out some cards she must have kept in the vest for a very long time: never-before-published memos outlining among other things, Windows Live "Wave 3" planning, Steven Sinofsky's reasons for not involving customers earlier in the development process, and Kevin Johnson's Reorg memo.
Where most tech reporters have a cursory understanding of the practices and technologies that make up Microsoft's business, she shows that even standing from the front gates, she can still dig into the truth. Just think what she could have done with Microsoft's backing... she could have done a better job articulating Microsoft's strategy than Microsoft has been able to do for the past 2 years.
The bottom line is, you can pay fifteen hundred bucks for a subscription to Directions on Microsoft, or you can spend fifteen bucks and buy Microsoft 2.0. IMO, the latter will get you the best value. MJ can hold her own better than any so-called "analyst", and this book provides the breadth and depth of business information that one would expect to find only in the Harvard Business Review. This is a must-read for anyone that considers themselves a "Microsoft Watcher".
Robert McLaws
Chief Blogger, Windows-Now dot com
 Interesting, but did MS acquire Yahoo yet? June 10, 2008
0 out of 3 found this review helpful
Interesting book, only thing that bothered me that at times Mary Jo Foley incorrectly assumed Microsoft would acquire Yahoo (or even already had). Other than that, a very good look into Microsoft's future.
Thought Provoking Insights June 2, 2008
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
Do you work at Microsoft, at one of their partners, or competitors? Own their stock? Then this book is for you. Most people count Microsoft out in the age of Google and the Web, but not Mary Jo Foley. She writes an honest, fair, and balanced book on where Microsoft is headed based on their current trajectory and her knowledge from covering the company for 20 years. Mary Jo takes you on a tour of who the new players are in the post Bill era (and there are some surprises) as well as gives detail on the current product line and what they mean in the "Web 2.0" era. Then she focuses her attention on products and services under development and how they fit into the new era. She has done a great job peering into the future with her predictions on future directions and business models for Microsoft.
This is a great read and an important book for anyone who deals with Microsoft, friend of foe. (Tip, read the footnotes, there are great nuggets of information in them!)
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