A common question following reports that Microsoft might invest upward of $ 1 billion in Dell’s potential deal to go private has been: What’s in it for Microsoft and Dell? Their business customers — and the IT pros that keep them up and running — would probably rather know: What’s in it for us?
There should be little risk to Microsoft and Dell shops, Forrester senior analyst David Johnson predicted in an email to InformationWeek. “I don’t see any negative side of this for customers of either Microsoft or Dell yet, but we’ll know more should it come to fruition,” he said.
There could be some upside for IT, too. Let’s look at four possible benefits.
1. A Better Microsoft.
Microsoft could use some help in critical business areas, according to Forrester’s Johnson. Those include: “More expertise in design, manufacture, distribution and especially enterprise sales of Windows PC hardware; more dedicated focus across enterprise sales, software and services on Microsoft solution sets and platforms; [and] a stronger enterprise go-to-market channel for hardware,” Johnson said. Owning a piece of Dell could help Microsoft better fill those needs.
The hardware piece could be particularly important for Windows 8′s eventual success — or lack of it — in the enterprise. Although Microsoft is touting strong licensing numbers for Windows 8 — and raising non-volume upgrade prices accordingly — early issues with Windows-based tablets and a relative lack of PCs purpose-built for Windows 8 could hamper adoption.