##CONTINUE##
He sat down to talk about the economy, Microsoft’s BizSpark free software offer for startups, and the company’s Azure cloud-computing platform. We also quizzed him on how Microsoft stacks up against rivals Google and Amazon in their interactions with startups.
Q: The first question on everyone's mind is the economy. What's the mood in Silicon Valley?
Lewin: The Silicon Valley community and the venture community are seeing, I think, a flight to quality. The best entrepreneurs, many of them are coming back. Those who've done well, who were "on the beach," are looking really closely and starting new businesses. I think maybe that's motivated by the hit to their personal net worth, but I think for the most part they see these are really interesting times to drive forward, because beyond the economic turmoil, there are a set of technical underpinnings going on in the market, with cloud computing and related activity. There's such a change going on in the underlying use of the technology to solve new problems, both to save money but also to create new market opportunities. The forcing function of the economy is driving great creativity, and driving those things that aren't great ideas out of business sooner.
Q: How has that affected what you're doing?
Lewin: In our case, the fact that we brought our BizSpark program and product-use offer to the table somewhat coincident with this grand economic issue, it was timely. Obviously we didn't plan it that way, because we've been working on this for a little while, but it's an investment that we will make and continue to make. You'll see us accelerate our investment in a strong way to support next-generation startups, because it's part and parcel with our business, always has been, and our success has for the most part been invariably tied to others doing things with our underlying platform assets.
Q: You guys haven't done many acquisitions here in the last few months, but is there an opportunity there in this climate to start to buy up some things?
Lewin: Our strategy remains constant. What's gone in the last few months is the same thing everybody is doing, focusing on your core. We're not immune to the times, and you have to hunker down and focus on your core and build from it. So that does distract you a hair. But the distraction is not for lack of intent. Our ongoing consistent strategy that M&A is an integral part of how we innovate, how we grow our business and our economic opportunity.
Q: Do you have any thoughts on what needs to be done for the economy?
Lewin: My personal take is, more angel money is good. Getting more things off the ground. It's all of those high-net-worth individuals who've taken, like all of us, pretty big hits on their personal portfolios, what do you do? Creating a climate, I think tax incentives can be very helpful. I think there's a level of local incubators, state and local governments making facilities available. We're trying to do our part. It may be coincidence, but it's the right time for us to be making this (BizSpark) offer.
Q: How would you describe the current state of Microsoft's relationship with Silicon Valley?
Lewin: I think we have reasonably well acclimated and normalized our relationship, as any large company has a relationship with startups. Consistent, ongoing, basic interaction has been the operating premise for eight years. The routine is, we respond. So the relationship there is predictable.
Q: Part of the problem when you came on was that Microsoft was seen as this big, intimidating force. Is Google the new boogeyman?
Lewin: I think Google presents a set of challenges for the startup and the venture world.
Q: Like what?
Lewin: Well, if you think about Microsoft, our platform assets are what people have to work in and around. You either bet on them, work with them, and we help you -- because that's in our vested interest -- or you work around them. ... If we're predictable about where we can be helpful and why, or not, it becomes really clear how to work with us. ... The predictability of how you interact with the organization has a lot to do with trust, and so I think we've developed a fair amount of trust. Ask others how much they trust their interaction with Google vs. how much they trust their interaction with us. It's how you behave and what your business model is that makes that behavior ring true.
Q: Microsoft recently sued TomTom over patents. I realize you're not the general counsel, but do you ever want to go over there and tell the lawyers, hey, stop that?
Lewin: No, I don't, because intellectual property is the foundation of our industry. You have to exercise your rights in a reasonable way or you lose them. ... Competitive advantage fuels new innovation and from that spring forth new opportunities. I believe in the system, and I grew up in the system, and it boils down to the different licensing models, and I believe in the one where you get to protect what you own.
Q: When startups think of partnering with a cloud-computing company, obviously Amazon comes to mind.
Lewin: They're doing a great job. They're definitely doing a great job.
Q: So how do you guys get the startup community working with your services?
Lewin: You get in the game, and that's exactly where we are right now. We're in the game. I think we've got a whole platform story up there that's going to be very, very compelling, and you've gotta offer a better set of services to get people to switch in the areas where that's a reasonable choice, and I think we'll get our fair share of switchers over time, as our business model becomes clearer.
Q: What did Amazon do right?
Lewin: They got in the game, they got in the game early, so they have a nice first-mover position there. I don't see anything that's going to slow them down, I think they've tasted some good success, and they're going to keep going, so it'll just be very competitive out there, which is great. In the long run, when you think about the long-term case of a highly secure, trusted computing model that bridges corporate firewall, the open Internet and an extended supply chain -- very complicated problem space -- I think we're reasonably well-positioned to architect and execute on that over time.
-----------------------------BY Bishop, Cook - toddbishop@bizjournals.com
Source：TechFlash
Todd Bishop is co-founder and managing editor of TechFlash. He has covered Microsoft and the technology industry for more than five years, most recently as a daily newspaper reporter and blogger based in Seattle. READ FULL BIOGRAPHY
Posts
0 comments:
Post a Comment