The next few months will see Microsoft tapping into the different startups that currently provide apps for different platforms. The recent past has seen Microsoft acquiring Acompli, Sunrise and similar app startups. The aim is to get the app startups, either by contract or by purchase, into creating apps that would be Microsoft products but will run on different mobile platforms. This will help Microsoft gain apps in its marketplace.
Currently, the Windows Marketplace sees less crowd and most people opt iOS or Android as the number of apps is more, compared to Windows Marketplace. Microsoft has brought in the former executive of Blackberry, Alec Saunders, to look into app startups having good potential. Alec is working as Principal Technology Evangelist and oversees what startups can be reigned in to create products with Microsoft as owner. This may mean partnering up, financing the startups, or even buying the startups.
According to Live Mint, the new strategy of Satya Nadella is to get some good number of Microsoft owned apps into the mobile market. Having apps for different platforms will encourage people to use the Microsoft product, thereby, giving it an edge over other competitors. The plan is already under implementation as we saw Microsoft’s new Outlook for iOS and Android and the Sunrise calendar app that now runs on all major platforms as well as the desktop.
Earlier, the strategy was to turn some popular Microsoft apps into cross platform apps. Now the strategy is to find out good startups working on iOS and Android etc and having them coded for Windows OS – mobile and PC both. Thus, they will be products of Microsoft that will run on Google and Apple products in addition to Windows Operating Systems.
Wes Miller, an analyst at Kirkland and researcher for Microsoft says:
“Now the attitude is we want to build amazing experiences on everybody’s platform and if we don’t have the expertise to build or design it in house, we’re going to buy companies that do”
While we will see Microsoft purchasing app companies that build apps related to productivity and time tracking etc., Alec Sauders is also talking about the future Internet of Things. He says he is focusing on startups into enterprise productivity, wearable technology, and Internet of Things.
Alec is launching a Microsoft Accelerator program in March 2015 to listen to startups into the above technical fields and will decide how to make a deal with them. Alec says:
“I am hoping we will get a couple of hundred companies come out, eat our snacks, drink our beer, and do a little bit of networking”
This shows the determination of Microsoft to create the mobile market it always wanted. With more and more businesses going mobile, now is the time to enhance the Windows App Marketplace. Experts hope the Windows 10 will have many people coding apps for the operating system. It seems that the new strategy by Satya Nadella is already showing results.
