[Marketing] Competitive Landscape: NComputing - Microsoft partnership; change in MS strategy for developing-country education markets

[Sean DALY]

http://www.ncomputing.com/tabid/180/default.aspx?ContentID=337
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/multipoint/default.aspx
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/multipoint/faq.aspx (see PDF brochure)
http://blogs.technet.com/unlimitedpotential/archive/2009/11/12/expanding-education-s-access-to-technology-with-windows-multipoint-server-2010.aspx
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13860_3-10396488-56.html
http://www.displaylink.com/pressreleaseviewer.php?type=2&id=43
http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/home/permalink/?ndmViewId=multimedia_detail&eid=6102160&newsLang=en

This shouldn't come as a surprise after this:
http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9114292/NComputing_hits_1M_customer_mark_hires_Microsoft_exec_as_chairman


With Microsoft's launch of Multipoint server, I believe they have
revealed a changed strategy - to focus education buyers on shared
resouce servers, the only serious competition to the netbook threat.
They have decided to cede ground in the lower-end educational netbook
space because they cannot prevail; their sales failure on the XO-1 was
a wake-up call. They know they have to get students hooked on Windows,
yet they are neither wiling to sell outmoded Windows XP on netbooks
with tiny margins, nor Windows 7 with small margins; upsell, their
core strategy for XP or GNU/Linux netbooks, will be difficult on small
light machines. Their USB stick based upgrade tool was pulled last
week due to GPL violations.

At the same time, they have understood that schools need servers for
connectivity, backup, and security. GNU/Linux is of course a serious
threat in the server space. And they also know Intel's Learning Series
classroom management tools for teachers (e.g. thumbnail view showing
what's on each student's screen in the class) is a linchpin of the
Classmate offer.

They missed the blossoming of Moodle in the course management space,
and admitted as much by acknowledging Moodle's importance in a recent
press release. They know collaborative applications is the right path,
stating that they hope to build an applications ecosystem, starting
with NComputing. This is very clear from the bottom of their FAQ page.
It's risky for them, because their classic ecosystem partners build
Windows applications, and shared resource computing means fewer
licenses for partners. So in a sense, they are encouraging their
partners to follow them into shared-resource, adapting licensing from
per-PC to seat count or site licenses.

They remain weak in K-6. They don't discuss it. My impression is that
they are aiming for an older student age group, identified as
"students and teachers who already know the familiar Windows
interface". They imply learning a new interface will take away from
teaching and learning. Their marketing is directly targeted at
teachers (cf. PDF brochure).

They are rushing this to market, but not overpromising; availability
is cited as "in the first half of 2010".

Note that each PC/server can only service up to 10
monitor/mouse/keyboard stations. The PR shot shows a circular library
table with 6 stations.

Two business models: OEMs (who will be sure to provide the necessary
graphics power) and license sales, the former supported by sellers,
the latter by partners or Microsoft directly.

Launch languages: Chinese, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese,
Korean, Brazilian Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, and Turkish.

Sean.