The year 2009 proved a milestone for Microsoft, but not a good one. Of the highlights Microsoft can look back at include:
- Microsoft had its first-ever quarterly loss in April
- With Windows 7 acceptance, Microsoft could remove the horror of Vista
- Windows Mobile 7 seems to be a horror story with ever sliding release dates
- Office 2010 might actually get used in 2010 but more corporations will move to Web-based apps
- Microsoft’s Internet and consumer push is wishy-washy as Bing has a long road ahead, Zune didn’t deliver, and Xbox finally went into the black
- Azure will more than likely only see die-hard pioneers and provide a moderate return as most will receive discounts for usage
But looking forward, while somewhat of a boring proposition, staple applications such as Office, Windows Server, Exchange, and SQL Server will most likely be Microsoft’s only saving grace.
