The pioneer that it was on the PC front a few decades back, Microsoft is finding itself in bold new territories with each passing days. The mobile revolution is in full flow, and Redmond is now changing habits accordingly.
Compared to just a few years back, the company has made several important strides in this domain. From Windows 8 to the streamlining of its mobile platform, Surface tablets and now the Nokia buyout, the technology titan seems well prepared for whatever the future will bring.
And that is without even talking about its investments in the cloud sector with Windows Azure.
But through it all, the company has been very clear of what made it a household name in the first place. Productivity is a much in the spotlight now as it was in the days of yonder.
When Microsoft launched the Surface RT back in October 2012, it made this point very clear and advertised the new unit as a standalone PC — one that offered the mobility of a tablet but with the productivity of a laptop.
And now Terry Myerson, the vice president of the Operating Systems Group at Microsoft, in a very recent interview on the Nokia Conversations blog explained that the company plans to expand this concept again after the acquisition of the Finnish company:
“In many cases, these customers are new to Microsoft, and their first personal computer will be a phone. Having these great products as part of our Microsoft offering dramatically broadens the reach of our company’s new Devices and Services strategy. Together, the future is bright.”
The senior executive goes on to explain that more users are switching to smartphones these days, thanks to the amazing prowess and processing power they provide.
But the idea still is productivity on the go — and this is one trend that Microsoft will try to make the most of in the coming years. Internet Explorer, Office and SkyDrive are some of the services that are likely to receive updates for mobile devices as part of this strategy.
Emerging markets are another important factor here.
Affordable smartphones sell in high numbers in these countries, and this further provides Microsoft with a chance to go forward with its plan of expanding the concept of PCs onto mobile devices.
Together, the future is, indeed, bright.
