Micorosft (MSFT): Software For Nothing

Microsoft (MSFT) CEO Steve Ballmer sounds like a revolutionary.

Accordiing to The Telegraph, the chief of Redmond says that "software delivered as a service, or software plus services as Microsoft likes to call it, will eventually overtake shrink-wrapped software sales." And that new consumer software will be supported by advertising or transaction fees. It will not longer be sold to run on PCs are Vista is today.

While Ballmer is looking at a world that is still a long ways off, he is still looking. Microsoft has been accused of burying its head in the sand.

The comments point to the importance of Microsoft developing a cohesive and successful strategy online Most measurement services put Microsoft’s online audience at a level comparable to Google (GOOG) or Yahoo! (YHOO), but these two companies get a much larger dollar yield from their users.

But, software may be the key that unlocks the interent for MSFT. It has something to offer that Yahoo! and Google do not. It has Windows. Over time, offering some part of or all of Windows operating software could draw a huge internet audience. If Micosoft can build an ad model around that, it could certainly rival the value that Google has to the global internet user base.

That may be Microsoft’s ticket.

Douglas A. McIntyre