Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella's Master Plan For Windows Is Getting Pushed To Its Limits

This week, Microsoft made a couple of closely related announcements: First, the $ 999 surface laptop, a rival MacBook released on college students, and second, the lightweight Windows 10 S operating system, which will also power the new laptop.

In both cases, it is a breakthrough for Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella's insistence that the key to making Windows 10 successful is simply making sure people like Windows 10. Build a new laptop and a new version of Windows 10 to turn it on, could well win some Mac converts.

The advantage for Microsoft is quite strong, too, competitively speaking. The Surface Laptop seeks to reinforce Microsoft's challenge to Apple as the premium hardware manufacturer of its choice, and Windows 10 S is an opportunity for Google's Chrome operating system, which is growing rapidly.

But in both cases, Microsoft is facing the limits of its Windows strategy, too. And if these initiatives succeed or fail much is said about the future of the Windows operating system. This is why.

Laptop surface

To succeed or fail, all eyes will be on the Surface Laptop as a head of Microsoft's ambitions in hardware.

The revelation of Surface Laptop came less than a week after Microsoft's latest earnings, which revealed that revenues in the surface hardware division fell by $ 285 million, or 26%, as other companies started To launch its own competitive competitors to the Surface Tablet Pro.

While there is a case to be made that having more surface competitors is a good thing for Windows (after all, Microsoft is a software company in the first place), it is not a great Microsoft look, it insists on the business of Hardware for the long haul.

As it stands, Microsoft's flagship 18-month-old Surface Pro 4 tablet, the anchor line surface, is approaching the end of its life cycle - and the rumor Surface Pro 5 is not found in any part.

 In addition, Microsoft has always walked a fine line with surface hardware alignment: The goal of the business of the surface, Microsoft has said long, is to build the hardware pushing forward of Windows. The original Surface tablet was built because PC makers were reluctant to add touch screens, for example.

However, making their own personal computers puts Microsoft in competition with the companies they trust to build Windows devices. While almost every PC manufacturer is building at least one laptop based on the Windows 10 S operating system, it will be the surface laptop that gets the spotlight. That could potentially alienate partners and discourage them from embracing the new Windows.
Windows 10 S

At the same time, Windows 10 S comes at a turning point for the company. With Windows 10, Microsoft has challenged Apple's position as the first platform for creatives and other advanced users. However, Google Chrome OS is the most popular operating system in American classrooms, and Windows 10 S is responding to that challenge.

See, Windows 10 S promises great benefits to performance, security, and battery life by powering laptops and inexpensive tablets that can present a challenge to Google Chromebooks.

Those advantages come at the cost of being able to download applications from the Windows store. On the surface (har har) it seems a limitation, it will be for many Windows 10 S users. It does not mean Google Chrome, Steam or the automatic synchronization of Dropbox files in Windows 10 S.

 But if and when Windows 10 S is a success, it stands out to attract more and more applications to the Windows store, which is, as of now, relatively little compared to the Apple App Store or Google Play. Microsoft has released tools to make it easier to bring traditional PC software to the Windows store, too, and is turning Microsoft Office to prove it. Windows 10 S will also not allow you to change your Google search engine, a benefit to Microsoft Bing.
If Windows 10 S is a success in the classroom, that will bring more educational applications to the platform. But that will not encourage developers to take their more conventional applications and games to the Windows store. And without those main applications, it's going to be a struggle to attract the main users ... which would further deter developers from bothering with the Windows Store in the first place.
Couple that with the potential market confusion between Windows 10 S and Windows 10 Pro first, and Microsoft has a real challenge ahead.
Under CEO Nadella, Microsoft has made great strides in making Windows relevant again. Now, Microsoft has to step up and demonstrate that it can keep that train running.