Microsoft generally doesn't innovate

The cool reception of Microsoft's Surface tablets, Windows 8, and Windows RT has people complaining about Microsoft's (in)ability to innovate. Somehow, people have gotten the idea that Microsoft must innovate to stay competitive.

Looking at the history of Microsoft products, I cannot help but think that innovation has been only a small part of their success. Microsoft has been successful due to its marketing, its contracts, its monopoly on Windows, and its proprietary formats.

Still not convinced? Consider these Microsoft products, and their "innovativeness":

• MS-DOS: purchased from another company
• C compiler: purchased from Lattice, initially
• Windows: a better version of OS/2, or MacOS, or AmigaDOS
• SourceSafe: purchased from another company
• Visual Studio: a derivation of their earlier IDE, cloned from Borland's TurboPascal
• C# and .NET: a copy of Java and the JVM
• Windows RT: a variant of Apple's iOS
• Azure: a product to compete with Amazon.com's web services and cloud
• the Surface tablet: a variant on Apple's iPad
• Word: a better version of WordPerfect
• Excel: a better version of Microsoft's Multiplan, made to compete with Lotus 1-2-3
• the Xbox: a game console to compete with Sony and Nintendo game consoles

I argue that Microsoft is an excellent copier of ideas, and not an innovator. All of these products were not innovations by Microsoft.

Some might observe that the list of Microsoft products is much longer than the one I have presented. Others my observe that Microsoft continually improves its products, especially after purchasing one from another company. (Certainly the case for their C compiler, Visual SourceSafe, and C#.)

To be fair, I should list the innovative products from Microsoft:

• Microsoft BASIC
• Visual BASIC

Microsoft is not devoid of innovation. But innovation is not Microsoft's big game. Microsoft is better at copying existing products and technologies, re-casting them into Microsoft's own product line, and improving them over time. Those are their strengths.

People may decry Microsoft's lack of innovation. But this is not a new development. Over its history, Microsoft has focussed on other strategies, and gotten good results.

I don't worry about Windows 8 and the Surface tablets being "non-innovative". They are useful products, and I have confidence in Microsoft's abilities to make them work for customers.