Robert Pogson

In the marketing wars over cloudy documents M$ has launched a campaign to get back the defectors from Office 365 to Google Docs. A sign of their desperation is a blog post in which they trot out US advertisements by Google requiring skills with Excel. They find 88 such ads. When I look I find Google has 1500 ads out there without any need for Excel, suggesting Google’s use of Excel is less than 10% of desktops… Ouch! Thank you, M$, for advertising Google Docs.

Here are my current results:

Further, M$ is harassing defectors to return to the fold and is willing to pay them to do so but the defectors will have none of it and are speaking out publicly.

“At this week’s Google Atmosphere conference, several defectors who had adopted Google cloud apps said that they were approached by members of the Google Compete team, who had sought to persuade them to stay with Microsoft. If argument failed to convince them, then the team was willing to offer other inducements.

This is standard operating procedure up to a point, but some were claiming that in addition to the usual billing tweaks, they were offered “massive discounts,” and in one reported case, an audience with Steve Ballmer himself. It was a chance to experience his in-your-face sales technique no doubt.”

see The Register

Shades of Munich all over again… It’s just like the “Get the FUD” campaign or SCOG v World.

Such practices may actually return some business to M$ but it tells the world how desperate M$ is not to be ignored. This is not about revenue. In a recent quarter, M$’s “Business” segment was up $400 million, 8% over the same quarter last year. It is about mind-share. Even customers who intend to stay with M$ would be wise to milk this fear for all the money they save. Businesses who want a stable partner would do well to stay away from these bullies. Put a sign on the door, “M$ Sales Reps Unwelcome”. Prepare a “No, Thanks” script for the folks who answer the telephones.