经济学人社论||微软重生启示录

Rebooted

王者归来

What Microsoft’s revival can teach other tech companies

微软重生对其他科技公司有何启示？

It must feel good to be back on top—and this time, almost liked. Twenty years ago Microsoft was considered an evil empire, scheming for domination and embroiled in a bruising antitrust battle with America’s Justice Department. Five years ago, having dozed through the rise of social media and smartphones, it was derided as a doddery has-been. Now, after several stellar quarters—this month it reported revenue of $33.7bn, up by 12% year on year—Microsoft is once again the world’s most valuable listed company, worth over $1trn. How did Satya Nadella, the boss since 2014, pull off this comeback? And with American trustbusters starting on a new review of “search, social media, and some retail services online”—ie, Google, Facebook and Amazon—what can the other tech giants learn from Microsoft’s experience?

重回巅峰的感觉一定很爽，这次也不例外。20年前，微软被认为是一个意图主宰科技领域的邪恶帝国， 同时深陷与美国司法部旷日持久的反垄断斗争。5年前，微软错过了社交媒体和智能手机的崛起良机，被嘲讽为明日黄花。现在，在见证了几个辉煌的季度财报后，微软公布第四财季的营收高达337亿美元，同比增长12%，市值超过一万亿美元，重登全球最有价值上市公司榜榜首。自2014年起，萨蒂亚·纳德拉（Satya Nadella）开始担任微软总裁，他是如何帮助微软重回巅峰的呢？随着美国反垄断机构对搜索引擎、社交媒体和线上零售服务等产业展开新一轮审查，以谷歌、脸书和亚马逊为代表的龙头科技公司又能从微软此次劫后重生中学到什么呢？

注:

1. has-been：If you describe someone as a has-been, you are indicating in an unkind way that they were important or respected in the past, but they are not now〈口〉曾经盛极一时的人,过时的人出自柯林斯英汉双解大词典

2. 自然年度、会计年度和财年，这些“年”有什么不一样呢？

美国很多企业财年可以很自由，根据自己的行业特性而定。美国有65%的企业财年是按照自然年的。而像星巴克、新东方、阿里巴巴等公司则运用更适合自己的日期作为自己的会计年，以便做财政预算、纳税和财报。这些企业通常有自己的商业周期，或所处行业有一定季节性影响。公司采用不同于自然年的财年主要原因是为了抵消行业的周期影响，为此能够更好的调整其财报的时间，避免季节因素造成的特别影响。具体如新东方，好未来这种教育机构就是典型受季节影响的企业，通常财年都不同于日历年。按照新东方的2019财年是从2018年6月1日开始，因为暑假班是新东方一年中业绩最好的时候。 

3. pull off：If you pull off something very difficult, you succeed in achieving it. 做成 (某件难事) 出自柯林斯英汉双解大词典

4. 合众国诉微软案

https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%90%88%E4%BC%97%E5%9B%BD%E8%AF%89%E5%BE%AE%E8%BD%AF%E6%A1%88

First, be prepared to look beyond the golden goose. Microsoft missed social networks and smartphones because of its obsession with Windows, the operating system that was its main moneyspinner. One of Mr Nadella’s most important acts after taking the helm was to deprioritise Windows. More important, he also bet big on the “cloud”—just as firms started getting comfortable with renting computing power. In the past quarter revenues at Azure, Microsoft’s cloud division, grew by 68% year on year, and it now has nearly half the market share of Amazon Web Services, the industry leader.

首先，要目光长远，切勿贪图眼前小利 (居安思危）。微软对其摇钱树Windows操作系统“一往情深”，从而错失了社交网络和智能手机的发展机遇。 纳德拉接手微软后最重要的举措之一就是不再靠Windows操作系统吃老本。更重要的是，就在企业刚开始适应计算机运算能力租赁时，微软押宝“云计算”。微软云计算部门Azure上一季营收同比增长68%，目前其市场份额已经接近行业龙头企业亚马逊的一半。 

注:

1. golden goose: a goose in folklore that laid a golden egg a day until its greedy owner killed it in an attempt to get all the gold at once 金鹅; 民间传说中一只每日都能下金蛋的鹅，最后被贪婪的主人杀掉以便立即获得所有金子something that provides sb with a lot of money, that they must be very careful with in order not to lose it指带来财富但须小心对待以免失去的事物

2. 微软财报亮点:云计算业务继续强劲 Windows销售反弹

https://finance.sina.com.cn/roll/2019-04-26/doc-ihvhiewr8270631.shtml

Second, rapaciousness may not pay. Mr Nadella has changed Microsoft’s culture as well as its technological focus. The cult of Windows ordained that customers and partners be squeezed and rivals dispatched, often by questionable means, which led to the antitrust showdown. Mr Nadella’s predecessor called Linux and other open-source software a “cancer”. But today that rival operating system is more widely used on Azure than Windows. And many companies see Microsoft as a much less threatening technology partner than Amazon, which is always looking for new industries to enter and disrupt.

其次，贪婪未必有回报。纳德拉改变的不仅是微软的企业文化，也包括技术核心。对WINDOWS的狂热注定会使微软走上挤压客户和合作伙伴的利益，排挤竞争对手的道路，这些手段令人质疑，从而导致反垄断调查。 前任Windows CEO视Linux和其他开源软件为眼中钉肉中刺。但如今，竞争对手的操作系统在Azure上的使用领域比在Windows上要广泛得多。许多公司认为相比于一直在寻求涉足并颠覆其它行业的亚马逊，微软是个没有多大威胁的技术合作伙伴。

Third, work with regulators rather than try to outwit or overwhelm them. From the start Microsoft designed Azure in such a way that it could accommodate local data-protection laws. Its president and chief legal officer, Brad Smith, has been the source of many policy proposals, such as a “Digital Geneva Convention” to protect people from cyber-attacks by nation-states. He is also behind Microsoft’s comparatively cautious use of artificial intelligence, and calls for oversight of facial recognition. The firm has been relatively untouched by the current backlash against tech firms, and is less vulnerable to new regulation.

第三，要与监管机构合作，而非力求智胜或压制他们。微软设计Azure的初衷就在遵从本地的数据保护法。总裁兼首席法律官布拉德·史密斯（Brad Smith）一直以来提出了诸多政策提案，例如《数字日内瓦公约》——旨在保护人们免受民族国家的网络攻击。史密斯支持微软相对谨慎地使用人工智能，同时他也倡导对人脸识别技术进行监管。时下，抵制科技公司之声尚未对微软造成影响；在新监管制度下，微软的（相关利益）不大容易受到影响。

True, missing the boat on social media means thorny matters such as content moderation pose greater difficulties for Facebook and Google. Still, others would do well to follow Microsoft’s lead. Apple has championed its customers’ privacy, but its treatment of competitors’ services in its app store may soon land it in antitrust trouble. Facebook and Google have started to recognise that with great power comes great responsibility, but each has yet to find its equivalent of Azure, a new business model beyond its original golden goose. Amazon, in its ambition and culture, most resembles the old Microsoft.

诚然，未进入社交媒体业也意味着避开了许多潜在的麻烦，比如内容审核就给Facebook和Google带来了诸多麻烦。然而，依然有其他公司希望效仿微软的做法。苹果公司一直提倡保护用户隐私，但它在应用商店中对待竞争对手服务的方式可能会让它很快陷入反垄断的泥潭。Facebook和Google已经开始意识到：能力越强，责任越大。但这两家公司目前都还没找到挖掘到与Azure类似的模式，它超越了之前的金鹅（golden goose）模式，是一种全新的商业模式。就雄心壮志和企业文化而言，亚马逊与往日的微软公司最为相似。

注：

1.miss the boat：to fail to act in time to take advantage of an opportunity

2.Windows Azure是微软基于云计算的操作系统，现在更名为“Microsoft Azure”，和Azure Services Platform一样，是微软“软件和服务”技术的名称。Windows Azure的主要目标是为开发者提供一个平台，帮助开发可运行在云服务器、数据中心、Web和PC上的应用程序。云计算的开发者能使用微软全球数据中心的储存、计算能力和网络基础服务。Azure服务平台包括了以下主要组件：Windows Azure；Microsoft SQL数据库服务，Microsoft .Net服务；用于分享、储存和同步文件的Live服务；针对商业的Microsoft SharePoint和Microsoft Dynamics CRM服务。

https://baike.baidu.com/item/Windows%20Azure/7149339?fr=aladdin

Even a reformed monopolist demands scrutiny. It should not be forgotten that Microsoft got where it is today in part through rapacity. Critics argue that in its battle with Slack, a corporate-messaging service which competes with a Microsoft product, it is up to some of its old tricks. A growing number of women at the firm are complaining about sexual harassment and discrimination. The new Microsoft is far from perfect. But it has learned some lessons that other tech giants should heed.

即便微软公司已从以前的垄断企业转型成功，仍需外界监管。人们应该铭记，微软取得今日之成就，一路走来也经历过贪婪。评论家表示，微软在与企业聊天服务商Slack的竞争中使用把戏。此外，越来越多微软女员工抱怨曾遭到性骚扰和性别歧视。改革后的微软公司也远称不上完美，但是它确实吸取了一些教训，其他科技巨头公司应引以为戒。

注:

在推出 Microsoft Teams免费版一年之后，微软再次向Slack挥出一记重拳，以一纸“禁令”对Slack展开了最后的围剿。近日外媒GeekWire曝光了一份微软内部的“禁止和不鼓励技术名单”，内容显示微软要求公司的十多万名员工禁止使用免费版Slack。同时被列入禁用名单的，还包括亚马逊的AWS以及谷歌文档。微软表示禁用Slack并非因为Slack是微软旗下Microsoft Teams的最大竞争对手，更主要的原因是担心Slack免费版和Slack增强版存在安全问题。此举不仅让刚刚在两周前成功上市的Slack背后冒汗，更让全球企业协同办公应用领域的玩家看到了一种趋势——在办公软件巨头面前，To B即时通讯的牌局真的很艰难。

翻译组： 

Yao，男，上外高材生，北大苗子