How to use the Armchair CEO Forum!

[RPG951S]

Lots of great ideas here - but I think the key is still to WIN the enterprise, and leverage that to get access to the consumer space. Going head-to-head with Apple/Google on the consumer side will be very tough - they are super entrenched and (as it has been shown) MS doesn't have anything big enough to provide a compelling differentiation, for consumers.


I think the the biggest misstep MS made is that are too "open". Leverage your success in one area to attack other areas. This is the key. Apple and google both do this. MS does not - office, skype, exchange are all completely "open". This is a mistake. It should be tiered - with windows devices always getting more/better/first support.


1) Mobile - Nadella is right, W10M has failed to establish a compelling third option. MS needs to change the game. MS was on the right path with continuum and "one device" - but the big flaw was it's not a complete replacement. Samsung DeX, Ipads and all the other "PC replacements" have died for the same reason; you still need a laptop/desktop.
The next "surface" device needs to truly "replace" the laptop/desktop in continuum mode.
Not 80%, not 90%, but 100%. It needs to have better performance than a core i3, run all x86 apps and peripherals. Multiple monitors. Add something like thunderbolt support (for external acceleration) and it would be incredible!
CShell and Windows on Arm is almost already there - a SD845 is already outperforming the core i3 - if MS has the will it can make this happen pretty easily. Imagine a folding surface phone, goes phone form to tablet. Add a $100 desktop dock or $150 laptop dock (but price them very competitively - the elite X3 lap-dock at $500 was a joke, at $150 it's seriously awesome). Or even a $500 desktop dock/laptop-dock with built-in CPU/GPU acceleration. Imagine. It would be incredible.
One device that is a phone, tablet, laptop and desktop. Add performance when needed with external acceleration. This would be SO compelling - impossible to ignore, especially for the enterprise customer.

2) Leverage the enterprise domination in Exchange/Mail/AD to "prefer" windows devices. I think the biggest mistake for MS was allowing exchange activesync for non-windows devices. There should ALWAYS be a compelling reason to choose an MS device in the enterprise space when it comes to mail/calendar/exchange.
MS should have stuck non-windows devices with a lower level of integration like POP/IMAP - functional but not great.
The key here is build differentiation for windows devices.

3) Same for office - keep the MSOffice "light" mobile products for non-windows. Give windows devices support for FULL MSoffice. Same for skype, azure, xbox, and all other MS divisions. Figure out a way to leverage your lines!

The combination of these three things will springbox MS back into the game.
The "next gen" device needs to be there - but it needs support to change the game.

 

[Yaw Agyei]

As the CEO, I will use a Windows phone as my daily driver and see how terrible and buggy the OS is and institute solutions ASAP. A Windows CEO that uses an IPhone or Android powered phone in my opinion is clueless about successes and failures of the windows 10 mobile. The daily troubles and issues users have to go through is nothing he has experienced before. For instance a Voice Recorder that can't run in the background and when phone's screen is turned off. A voice recorder that takes many seconds to save a recording over 20minutes interruption of which will rendered the audio corruptor unreadable. A voice recorder app that can't utilize all four microphones in my Lumia 950.

I will concentrate less on US with my smartphone strategy because the US has proven beyond a doubt that it cares less about windows phone.

I will make sure all the tools and requirements developers will need to bring win32 apps to store are provided. Tools that will make the experience on these apps no different from their win32 counterparts. Then I will give developers a time frame to move all software to the store. Then I will make windows 10 incapable of running classic win32 apps just like Windows 10 S. But before all these I will end support for all older versions of Windows. This I believe will make users look no where than the store for their apps making the store more relevant than it currently is. With UWP apps in store, making Windows 10 mobile versions won't be too much of a hustle for developers.

I will humbly appeal to developers with desktop apps available in store and for win32 to automatically redirect users to the store versions of their apps when their websites notice their apps are trying to be downloaded from machines running windows 10.

I will not force windows 10 mobile users to use terrible Microsoft Edge browser to read PDFs. It is terrible at rendering PDFs. In fact PDFs have always been terribly rendered on windows 10 mobile even with Adobe Reader and all other PDF readers I have used on my Lumia 950.

I will make First party windows apps so cool that other developers will draw inspiration from them rather than the half hearted solutions that are currently available. And I won't deny them of the resources needed to achieve same.

Finally I won't over promise and under deliver and I will make this mobile OneNote app I am typing from, better at highlighting texts will make sure it stops putting a banner in my face preventing me from moving the cursor along to highlight texts.

 

[BrianEmbry]

first things first. I would apologize to the entire world for the disaster that happened with Windows 10 Mobile. and promise to be fully committed to the next version of Windows on mobile.

2. reintroduce windows to the mobile market with a refreshed windows experience along with a premium built phone such as a surface phone. iteration s can be added such as a foldable version and whatnot

3. withdraw ALL Microsoft apps from Apple and Android application stores. this is to make a statement. to show consumers that if they really want Microsoft services they need to commit to the platform

4. to counteract people's response "there is no developer support", Microsoft should really push developers (money, threats, etc to make the damn apps. yeah I'm talking to you Google and Snapchat.
5. Marketing marketing marketing. Microsoft already has a great established name with the surface branding. people would drool over a phone of the same build quality

6. Cortana should be updated. I used Google assistant for the first time for a week and I'm blown away. come one Microsoft you could do better

Three and four, well kinda cancel each other out. Google is the developer of Android and owns Android.

If you pulled my apps from your platform then tried to force through coercive methods that I should develop apps for your platform then, I would tell you to basically go F yourself. Being that Microsoft at this point in time needs Google more than vice versa...

 

[Xanc6]

That would create a Continuum / Timelapse breach and would end the universe as we know it. Think "Back to the Future Science". If you would build a time machine to fix the Mobile strategy, there would be a perfect mobile strategy and there would be no need for this forum to be created and you would not think to respond. This would create a massive infinite time loop and everything would collapse.....

 

[order_66]

First order of business, stop lying to the consumer.

Second order of business, start listening to the consumer.

After first and second are accomplished everything else will fall into place.

 

[kingtigre]

Would absolutely NOT do a damn thing in the mobile market. No phones. No mobile OS. That battle is lost and anyone who thinks it can be won isn't paying attention. At no point will anyone in Microsoft marketing mention "Phone" and "Windows" in the same sentence. Instead, here is what I would do:

1.) Fix Skype. Make it free with every Windows license. If you use Windows, you get Skype Unlimited. Enable number porting from current carriers. (Android, iOS, MacOS, #sorrynotsorry...Microsoft is going to be "Windows first" for real now.)

2.) Put LTE/Telephony/SMS/MMS in EVERYTHING. Surface, Laptops, HoloLens, etc. Use e-SIM and Skype to leverage a T-Mobile DIGITS-like feature so that your 1 number rings on every Windows device and you can answer those calls/messages on every Windows device. (Suddenly having a phone isn't such a priority anymore.)

3.) Release a smaller, portable, don't care if it's foldable, Windows ARM device.
(Note that it isn't a phone because it is full Windows 10 and as I have established in step 2, all Windows devices accept LTE Data/Phone calls/SMS, etc.) Play up pen support, AR capability, LTE, Full Windows OS, Skype Unlimited.

4.) Double down on Cortana. Put her in all possible markets. In all possible hardware. Smart homes, Speakers, Televisions, anything. Go full-on "Skynet" with her. Train her to be better than any other assistant on the market. And do it FAST.

 

[Miguel Laborde]

I would do a couple of things:

1 - Developers, developers, developers: One true crossplatform development enviroment. You can develop for every platform on Visual Studio with a single code . This will make developers keep using Microsoft Tools, alongside Microsoft Services. Transform Visual Studio's paid apps as a service (u$s 5/month max with some benefits of Azure cloud). ¨This will make app development for Windows a live thing and every app developed for Android of iPhone will be deployed to Microsoft Store, which will prevent future APP GAP. And do it quickly because Flutter (from Google) is coming. If you loose programmers, you're lost. (as soon as possible)

2 - IOT: Develop IOT Hardware... The concept of Surface (excelent experience), applied to SmartHomes. (next year)

3 - Invite all Windows 8.1/8/Vista/7 to upgrade to Windows 10 for a low price. This will help grow revenue for Windows and "genuinize" creacked versions. Maybe offer Windows as a true service (u$s 15/year) for keeping people updated with latests patches and security updates and prevent fragmentation (like Android). Obviously free for Surface owners (iOS update model) (now)

4 - Office free for non enterprise. These will make you compete with the Google Drive+Docs+Spreadsheets free for personal use combo. And give a great experience. A LOT of new users are using those tools and getting used to them because they are free. In the future they will be accustomed to those tools instead of Office. (now)

5 - Surface foldable tablet (most wanted for all windows central members) with full AR experience with HoloLens cameras. Optional accesory: the hololens glasses (only the screens with ear buds) (next year)

6 - Surface Bracelet. Bendable screen that attachs the top with the bottom that you can wear on your wrist. Detach it and you have a phone. (long run)

 

[Forofo73]

Microsoft Phone

Development of a Microsoft Phone with Windows 10.
Many thanks

 

[SilverFoxxx1]

What I would do if I was CEO is start mobile from scratch & do it the right way with great support from developers & fans. The marketing for the mobile phones would be done properly this time around. I would have ads all over the world letting people know we are here as well. Also I would definitely invest heavily in the Xbox first party title library. Also I would ask Bill Gates to become more involved with the company than he has been in previous years because of the Bill & Melinda Gates foundation.

 

[Benetnach]

We created the Armchair CEO forum to provide everyone with a place to enter their thoughts, suggestions and opinions on what Microsoft should do next. What would you do if you were in charge!? Share your thoughts, plans and opinions right here!

Please: Keep all threads productive, respectful and on-topic to the original post!

Fire Satia Nutella!

 

[squire777]

Demote Satya to a janitor position

 

[M_A_Adams]

As I have seen several times, first FIRE NADELLA.

Then, go through all of the recent decisions and reconsider them.
- Aggressively go FORWARD with Windows mobile
- Microsoft applications (Office, etc) release on MS O/S's FIRST. Apple / Android can wait
- Bring back the BAND
- Rethink Groove
- PUSH UWP
- Perhaps most importantly for the long run... Reestablish good relationship with developer community!

 

[Paul Cowsert]

First of all, set the marketing team straight. These commercials do not show that Microsoft products are superior, (except for One X) just put some "cool" pictures on the screen and flash some lights on the device. Secondly, hold a press conference to let people know that we done goofed by giving the fans a boot to the rear. Third, get the divisions to stop stabbing each other. (It may have gotten better, but come on, it still happens.) This could be done by placing more middlemen between the stages of divisions. Fourth, Invest more into third-party apps and larger AAA games for the Microsoft Store. Fifth, (should the board still have hope) crank-start mobile again. This can be done by doing a marketing campaign showing how much better windows mobile works on an android phone than Android.

 

[Great deal]

Id makes Windows 10 Open Source, get rid of the fat cats and turn it into an employee-owned partnership. Apologise to Nokia staff and developers for arrogant mistakes, then build our core values and ensure the 'why' is front and centre of all decisions and marketing. Id fire the heads of Skype and personally escort them off premises. Then start a risk assessment of the business while pushing on the AI front and start car development. Maybe call the marketing department and link their pay to successful campaigns.

 

[Neeraj Ashu]

I would split Microsoft in two. A Consumer facing Microsoft and an Enterprise facing Microsoft.
The enterprise Microsoft would create services and devices targeted to the company side. Such as surface with added security and toughness, Azure, Office 365 and so on.


The consumer Microsoft would create devices and a reliable and powerful ecosystem.
Devices such as tablets, computers and phones, AI (cortana), APIs for consumer electronics to use (like apple's home kit).


Microsoft needs an ecosystem that it can rely on and build upon. Only this way, they can have control over the devices and system to better create experiences. Great Experiences.


There's a lot of potential inside de company to create devices and services. The problem has been marketing them properly, globalisation of products and services and connecting the products and services in a seamless way.


I would reshape the company to work on a shared vision were teams work together to create a bigger picture were all devices and products are inter connected and work together to create "magic".

best answer.

 

[Devan Hammack]

First day:
"Consumers... we are sorry. We have failed you several times with products we dropped, and that has caused an understandable lack of faith in us. For those who have proven their loyalty to MS with multiple products that we have subsequently cancelled, and have taken part in our insider programs, we'd like to invite you to a special event where you will be thanked and rewarded for your loyalty."

They need to do that, or give us a damn token of appreciation... whatever it is. Apologize. Make it better. You failed and you know it, Microsoft.. Make it better. Go ahead and try to make us trust you again. I dare you.

 

[Deamion]

It wouldn't matter what I did on day one. The company will never recover from buying Nokia when it should have bought BlackBerry. That was the point of no return. Everything that has happened since then is the domino effect from that decision.

BlackBerry was offering everything that Nokia was (except the camera tech, but that didn't save them either), it was cheap at that time, and it would have giving Microsoft a huge, already established, footprint into the secure enterprise mobile space, which would in turn boosted it's cloud and server products, setting up the Surface line for even better sales, etc... etc...

I think history will show that buying Nokia was the final blow that killed Microsoft.

 

[DontBeEvil10]

We created the Armchair CEO forum to provide everyone with a place to enter their thoughts, suggestions and opinions on what Microsoft should do next. What would you do if you were in charge!? Share your thoughts, plans and opinions right here!

Please: Keep all threads productive, respectful and on-topic to the original post!

1- fire nadella
2- build a mobile device and bring top apps (paying them or developing for them)
3- bring windows 10 to cars and smart tvs
4- buy/commercial agreements with spotify, netflix, vimeo, viber, dropbox, twitter, foursquare, here ecc... or similar to use ms account and join the ecosystem

 

[vEEP pEEP]

Next, Build a Mobile phone, who gives a crap about how many units are sold, when trying to break into the market you have to be consistent when it comes to releasing new models, When Microsoft released the 950 and 950XL I thought it was on the right path but then Microsoft failed to stand behind the product in both advertising and the future of the mobile platform. Offering two sized phones is all Microsoft needed. offering phone like the 550 and 650 was just too much and it dumbed down the product. If Microsoft wants to be in the market it has to be done with a flagship product. Look at Apple, they never invented anything, they just take others ideas and sell them better.

Agreed.

I also thought when HP put the Elite x3 there would be hope and MS would back this with a lot of gusto...but no...

At work - being able to carry our device around and go form workstation to workstation (especially meeting rooms) would be a great idea. I thought for 90% of our organization - the Elite did exactly what PC did - and portable.

MS & HP should have been promoting Continuum....even giving it away - having some real business pilots...maybe they did and it failed miserably?

Oh well...look where we are...

MS is giving signals about leaving the consumer product market...but not being straight forward.

 

[hans-martijn]

I wouldn't fire Nadella, since I'd be CEO, he wouldn't be. He could help with short term strategies.

For long term strategies: I still would focus on the enterprise, but different. I'm a bit older, so I do remember the older days when we all used WordPerfect in the Netherlands. Why was everyone using WP? Well, you could copy it to three floppies and take it home, install it and work with it. Since everyone used it at home, everyone wanted to use it at the office too. That's how it became really popular.

I'd make it easy (and cheap) to use a lot of MS products on a lot of platforms for the home user. Whatever people use at home, they feel comfortable with at the office. Currently MS makes good products, but -for instance- Outlook is not part of Office Home edition. Home users don't get used to Outlook, prefer other mail clients, ask for them at work, etc. I don't think the strict segregation of enterprise and home users works.