Microsoft bucks trend, has good 2002
crn.com | at | by Mike
As Sun Microsystems, AOL Time Warner and Oracle struggle with low stock prices, revenue declines and layoffs, the company they all love to hate had a phenomenal year. Microsoft rang up record revenue in its most recent quarter, launched a flashy new video-game service and rolled out the Tablet PC, a pet project of chairman Bill Gates. And while its legal troubles aren't over, the Redmond software powerhouse scored big when a federal judge approved the company's antitrust settlement with the U.S. Justice Department.
Just how long can Microsoft's roll continue? Much of that depends on whether Microsoft can mature, said Matt Rosoff, an analyst with Kirkland-based Directions on Microsoft, an independent research firm. Microsoft needs to outgrow bad habits of missing deadlines for delivering new software and evolve into a leader that can clearly articulate its vision for the future.