What’s Going On at Microsoft?

I read today with much disillusionment a recap of the speech of Kevin Turner, Microsoft’s COO, given at the Worldwide Partner Conference.

In the speech, Mr. Turner ran through the company’s list of rivals in various markets, ridiculing them in turn.  Of Salesforce.com’s Marc Benioff, he said “We now have a humongous pacifier to stick in the mouth of Marc Benioff”, referring to Microsoft’s Dynamics Online product.  He then went on to take shots at Google and Apple, as well as Oracle.

This makes me sad.  Microsoft is like the pro athlete that used to be great, then wasn’t, that you want to be great again.  Maybe that athlete fell on hard times, made some bad decisions, but is desperately trying to make a comeback.  Just when you think they are ready to break through, they show up in the police blotter again.

While Turner takes his pot shots to the delight of the beer-swilling mid-40s crowd that are Microsoft partners, his “rivals” continue to put Microsoft further and further in the rear-view mirror.  What’s more, it seems that Microsoft’s strategy has nothing to do with turning out great products to compete, but rather continuing to plod along on the course Steve Ballmer has put them on.

Google is activating 500,000 Android devices a day.  A DAY!  Google is giving away a suite of business productivity apps ( Mail, Docs, Chat, etc. ) that Microsoft wants to charge $6/user/month for.  There is no cohesive strategy at Microsoft (at least that is visible to the rest of us) on how they will compete in tablets and mobile, spaces that are just exploding.  The list of issues goes on…

Shareholders of Microsoft unite!  Get rid of Ballmer, get rid of Turner, and hire some people interested in building new, great products that make us pay attention again.  We want to see Partner Conferences where the world stops and says “Whoa.  That’s cool.”  It’s been too long.  It’s really been since the floppy-haired devil himself departed.

Please, please, please.  I want to care about you again.  I want you to make it back.  Stop getting pulled over for DUI, clean up your act, and make something of yourself for Pete’s sake!

What do you think Microsoft has to do to become relevant again?