The lessons from Microsoft’s startling comeback | 商论双语
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《经济学人·商论》2023-10-26
The lessons from Microsoft’s startling comeback
对人工智能的大胆押注可能会帮助它超越苹果，成为全球市值最高的公司
A bold bet on AI could help it overtake Apple as the world’s most valuable firm
“这有点像是回到了90年代。”微软老板萨蒂亚·纳德拉（Satya Nadella）9月21日在纽约的一个产品发布会上欢呼。他指的是这个软件巨头的辉煌岁月，当时Windows操作系统无处不在，利润飙升，收入惯常以每年超过30%的速度增长。微软一度成为全球市值最高的公司。但成功孕育了自满。到2010年代初期，微软销售增长放缓，利润率缩水。
“IT IS KINDA like the Nineties are back,“ crowed Satya Nadella, the boss of Microsoft, at a product launch in New York on September 21st. He was referring to the glory days of the software giant, when its Windows operating system was ubiquitous, profits were soaring and revenues routinely grew by more than 30% a year. For a while Microsoft became the most valuable company in the world. But success bred complacency. By the early 2010s sales growth had slowed and profit margins had shrunk.
本世纪20年代，微软迎来了新的全盛期。纳德拉将云计算而不是Windows定为公司的核心，帮助削减了成本并提高了利润。微软的营业利润率从2014年的29%上升到43%，是美国收入最高的50家非金融公司中最高的。投资者似乎很高兴。自2021年11月货币政策收紧的前景引发科技股抛售以来，微软的股价压过了除苹果以外的所有主要对手。
In the 2020s Microsoft enjoyed a new heyday. Mr Nadella has put cloud computing at the centre of the firm, rather than Windows, which has helped trim costs and boost profits. The company’s operating margin has fattened from 29% in 2014 to 43%, the highest among America’s biggest 50 non-financial firms by revenue. Investors seem happy. Since the prospect of tighter monetary policy triggered a sell-off in tech stocks in November 2021, Microsoft’s share price has beaten all its big rivals bar Apple.
现在，纳德拉正在推进另一次大胆的重组，这次是围绕人工智能（AI）展开的。微软现在已成为人们使用AI工具的首选公司，这在很大程度上要归功于它对ChatGPT背后的创业公司OpenAI的投资。若回到一年前，大多数观察人士会说这个领域的首选公司是谷歌的母公司Alphabet或Facebook的母公司Meta。AI可能会推动微软的地位继续攀升，帮助它从苹果手中夺回全球最大公司的桂冠。它非凡的重塑为企业提供了广泛的经验教训。
Now Mr Nadella is charging ahead with another bold reorganisation, this time around artificial intelligence (AI). Thanks in large part to its investment in OpenAI, the startup behind ChatGPT, Microsoft has become the go-to firm for AI tools. A year ago most observers would have said that was Alphabet, Google’s parent company, or Meta, Facebook’s parent. And AI may propel Microsoft higher still, helping it reclaim the crown as the world’s biggest company from Apple. Its remarkable reinvention holds wider lessons for businesses. ... ...
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