Monday, May 6, 2002
Pocket PC is a sapling...
Posted by Ed Hansberry in "ARTICLE" @ 12:43 PM
http://money.cnn.com/2002/04/12/pf/agenda_randdev/index.htm
There has been lots of talk lately about that $40B cash hoard Microsoft is sitting on and what should be done. Obviously MS wants to keep it, plow it back into research and development, which I personally agree with. What is interesting though is Pocket PCs are a very very small part of Microsoft's portfolio, given the company pulled in over $27.5B in revenues over the last 12 months, but it is clear it is a big part of their future - at least that is how the guys at the top see it right now.
"The analogy I like to use with regard to our investment strategy," says Ballmer, "is this: We plant a select number of seeds that we nurture...in anticipation of strong growth down the road." Then came the "saplings," he continues, "businesses that have taken root....Today that would include enterprise servers, MSN and Pocket PC....Trees are our core businesses -- Windows and Office -- that help us plant more seeds and nurture more saplings. We have a very long time horizon."
Wow - Pocket PCs in the same breath as enterprise servers and MSN. :-)
There has been lots of talk lately about that $40B cash hoard Microsoft is sitting on and what should be done. Obviously MS wants to keep it, plow it back into research and development, which I personally agree with. What is interesting though is Pocket PCs are a very very small part of Microsoft's portfolio, given the company pulled in over $27.5B in revenues over the last 12 months, but it is clear it is a big part of their future - at least that is how the guys at the top see it right now.
"The analogy I like to use with regard to our investment strategy," says Ballmer, "is this: We plant a select number of seeds that we nurture...in anticipation of strong growth down the road." Then came the "saplings," he continues, "businesses that have taken root....Today that would include enterprise servers, MSN and Pocket PC....Trees are our core businesses -- Windows and Office -- that help us plant more seeds and nurture more saplings. We have a very long time horizon."
Wow - Pocket PCs in the same breath as enterprise servers and MSN. :-)
