On the inside looking out

In the consumer realm “shock and awe” rules. Problem number one with “shock and awe” is that it doesn’t work when you need developers and other partners to succeed. Microsoft needs to improve customer engagement, dramatically. Microsoft has to make a clear differentiation between platform and product. It turns out that the consumer ecosystem as well as the community of influencers craves direction and interaction with the vendor every bit as much as Enterprise CIOs do. Put simply, the consumer guys are wrong about secrecy. At least at Microsoft. I hope they figure it out soon, because “shut up and ship” is not helping their cause.