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.在这个由谷歌(Google)和兴起的苹果公司(Apple) 引导风潮的时代,微软公司(Microsoft)首席执行官萨蒂亚·纳德纳正在尝试着重新启动这家公司。他的文档事项认同满满当当:完全所有的微软公司产品都受到挑战,或者领先于竞争对手。
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.纳德纳应当做到什么,仍然是业界观察家热议的主题。上周四,他宣告了一项裁员18,000人的公司瘦身计划,这是他离任后的首个大动作。尽管这一行径的波及面不堪称并不大(它将是微软公司有史以来规模仅次于的裁员行动),但纳德纳仍然含糊其辞,不愿具体透漏这家科技巨头到底将南北何方。
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.上周,纳德纳公布了一份3,000字的愿景宣言。在这份宣言中,他向全体员工陈述了一件显而易见的事情:微软公司必须更好的紧迫感和创意。随后,在科罗拉多州阿斯彭开会的《财富》科技头脑风暴大会(Fortune’s Brainstorm Tech) 上,纳德纳某种程度令人难以捉摸。
他着重强调这家公司的极大潜力,但问题是,这位微软公司掌门人并没勾勒他想如何构建这种创造力。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.从趋向到保守,分析师给微软公司进了很多处方。完全所有人都表示同意,挽回一家可观如微软公司的公司必须时间,如果这项兴起大业未来将会已完成的话。
“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.“对于一家规模如此极大,对消费者作出如此多允诺的公司来说,哪怕严重地上前,也是一件极为艰难的事情,”Reticle Research研究公司独立国家分析师罗斯o鲁宾说道。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.到底,凭借Windows电脑操作系统和Office办公套装软件,微软公司曾多次是高科技产业的王者。但面临日新月异的世界,微软公司变得老态龙钟,变化较慢。
如今的微软公司已正处于劣势,因为它没预料到消费者不会如此很快地退出台式电脑,转而用于移动设备。现在,它开始拼死追上。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.这家公司依然是一个庞然大物,本财年头九个月刷新了超过635亿美元的销售额。
同期利润也令人印象深刻印象,约175亿美元,但仅比去年同期下跌了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.作为微软公司己任之本的软件业务于是以面对谷歌和苹果的强力狙击手——这两家公司的软件版本基本上是免费赠送给。对于微软公司来说,在这样的环境下竞争,最少从将来来看,如果它没能做出根本性转变,败局已以定。
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.今年早些时候,在苹果iPad风行世界多年之后,微软公司再一公布了面向这款平板电脑的Office软件。业界普遍认为,这种延后早已让微软公司损失了大量潜在的销售良机,无异于把这一市场让给让与他人。到目前为止,人们早就习惯用于没加装Office软件的平板电脑,现在有可能没什么花钱出售这款软件的理由。
“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.“微软公司独家获取的软件跟许多其他的免费选项到底有何区别?”Jackdaw Research公司独立国家分析师贾恩·道森说道。
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