遲一步步步遲 如何恢復微軟的魔力
Satya Nadella, Microsoft’s chief executive, has his hands full trying to reboot his company in the age of Google and a resurgent Apple. Nearly all of its products are under attack or trailing the competition.
在這個由谷歌(Google)和復興的蘋果公司(Apple) 引領風潮的時代，微軟(Microsoft)首席執行官薩蒂亞·納德拉正在嘗試着重啓這家公司。他的待辦事項肯定滿滿當當：幾乎所有的微軟產品都受到挑戰，或者落後於競爭對手。What Nadella should do has been the subject of great debate among industry watchers. On Thursday, he took his first major step by announcing plans to cut 18,000 jobs to help streamline the company. Despite the scope of the move—it would be Microsoft’s largest-ever wave of layoffs—Nadella has been vague about what may be in store for the technology giant.
納德拉應該做什麼，一直是業界觀察家熱議的主題。上週四，他宣佈了一項裁員18,000人的公司瘦身計劃，這是他上任後的首個大動作。儘管這一舉動的波及面不可謂不大（它將是微軟有史以來規模最大的裁員行動），但納德拉一直含糊其辭，不願明確透露這家科技巨頭究竟將走向何方。Last week, he released a 3,000-word mission statement to employees in which he stated the obvious: that Microsoft MSFT 1.02% needs more urgency and innovation. He followed it up with an equally elusive appearance at Fortune’s Brainstorm Tech conference in Aspen, Colo. during which he emphasized the huge potential of his company. One problem: Nadella did not outline how he planned to achieve it.
上週，納德拉發佈了一份3,000字的使命宣言。在這份宣言中，他向全體員工陳述了一件顯而易見的事情：微軟需要更多的緊迫感和創新。隨後，在科羅拉多州阿斯彭召開的《財富》科技頭腦風暴大會(Fortune’s Brainstorm Tech) 上，納德拉同樣令人難以捉摸。他着重強調這家公司的巨大潛力，但問題是，這位微軟掌門人並沒有勾勒他打算如何實現這種潛能。
Analysts have a number of ideas for Microsoft, from incremental to radical. Nearly all agree that reinvigorating a company as big as Microsoft will take time, if it can be done at all.
從漸進到激進，分析師給微軟開了很多處方。幾乎所有人都同意，重振一家龐大如微軟的公司需要時間，如果這項復興大業有望完成的話。“It’s very difficult for a company of that size and that many commitments to customers to turn on a dime,” said Ross Rubin, an independent analyst with Reticle Research.
“對於一家規模如此巨大，對消費者做出如此多承諾的公司來說，哪怕輕微地轉身，也是一件極其困難的事情，”Reticle Research研究公司獨立分析師羅斯o魯賓說。Microsoft, of course, once dominated the technology industry with its Windows computer operating system and Office productivity software suite. But the world quickly changed, and Microsoft was slow to change with it. Today, Microsoft’s position is weak because it failed to anticipate the shift by consumers from desktop computers to mobile devices early enough. Now, it’s scrambling to catch up.
沒錯，憑藉Windows電腦操作系統和Office辦公套裝軟件，微軟曾經是高科技產業的王者。但面對日新月異的世界，微軟顯得老態龍鍾，變化緩慢。如今的微軟已處於劣勢，因爲它沒有預料到消費者會如此迅速地放棄臺式電腦，轉而使用移動設備。現在，它開始奮力追趕。The company remains a behemoth with $63.5 billion in sales during the first nine months of this fiscal year. Profits during that period reached an impressive $17.5 billion, but they gained only 3% from a year earlier.
這家公司仍然是一個龐然大物，本財年頭九個月創下了高達635億美元的銷售額。同期利潤也令人印象深刻，達175億美元，但僅比去年同期上漲了3%。Microsoft’s software business, the company’s cornerstone, is facing a difficult fight with rivals like Google GOOG -1.53% and Apple AAPL -1.78% essentially giving their versions away for free. For Microsoft, competing in such an environment, at least in the long term, is a losing battle if it fails to make major changes.
作爲微軟立身之本的軟件業務正面臨谷歌和蘋果的強力狙擊——這兩家公司的軟件版本基本上是免費贈送。對於微軟來說，在這樣的環境下競爭，至少從長遠來看，如果它未能作出重大改變，敗局已定。Earlier this year, Microsoft released a version of Office for Apple’s iPad, years after the tablet had become a blockbuster seller. The delay is believed to have costMicrosoft a large number of potential sales and left the market wide open for others to fill. So far, people have managed just fine without Office on their tablets and may now see little reason to spend money on it.
今年早些時候，在蘋果iPad風行世界多年之後，微軟終於發佈了面向這款平板電腦的Office軟件。業界普遍認爲，這種延誤已經讓微軟損失了大量潛在的銷售良機，無異於把這一市場拱手讓與他人。到目前爲止，人們早已習慣使用沒有安裝Office軟件的平板電腦，現在可能看不出花錢購買這款軟件的理由。“What does Microsoft uniquely provide that is differentiated from other options, many of which are free?” asked Jan dawson, an independent analyst with Jackdaw Research.
“微軟獨家提供的軟件跟許多其他的免費選項究竟有何區別？”Jackdaw Research公司獨立分析師賈恩·道森說。
