Microsoft is one of the most profitable tech companies in the world. Does financial success automatically mean a company is serving its customers well? The short answer: no. A company can dominate the market, generate billions, and still leave its users feeling neglected, frustrated, or simply stuck.
Dominance Without Respect
Microsoft’s products are everywhere. Businesses depend on Windows, Excel, and Outlook. Countless IT professionals build their careers on Microsoft certifications. In that sense, Microsoft remains “important.” But importance is not the same as respect.
Many users, including myself, no longer regard Microsoft with the same admiration we once did. It’s hard to maintain respect for a company that often feels more reactive than visionary. When Bill Gates stepped back, it marked the end of an era. And unless something dramatic changes, that era isn’t coming back.
Users Don’t Have Many Choices
This isn’t just about performance or innovation. It’s about monopoly by default. You don’t use Windows because you love it. You use it because you have no real alternative. You can’t play most games on a Mac. Linux still has major compatibility gaps for everyday consumers. So you stay with Microsoft. Not out of loyalty, but out of necessity.
That’s not success. That’s entrapment.
Innovation Stalls When Competition Fails
Windows Vista was a disappointment to many, myself included. But Vista’s delays weren’t what failed users. It was the larger pattern of Microsoft being slow to evolve unless pushed. They added features long present in Apple’s OS not because they wanted to lead, but because their users demanded it.
Internet Explorer is another example. It stagnated for years, lagging behind competitors in speed, security, and usability. Yet it stuck around. Not because people loved it, but because it came preinstalled and was “good enough” for Microsoft’s lowest-common-denominator audience.
A Company That Serves Shareholders, Not Users
Microsoft’s shareholders are happy. Their target market? Mostly indifferent. And that’s the difference. Microsoft isn’t trying to dazzle or delight. It’s trying to maintain its grip. Apple users value experience and cohesion. Microsoft users often just want things to work because they don’t have a better option.
Profit Doesn’t Equal Performance
A company can be wildly profitable and still fail the people who rely on it. Microsoft’s success reflects its market position, not its user satisfaction. When customers use your product because they have to, not because they want to, you haven’t earned their trust. You’ve trapped their attention.
Until better alternatives exist, Microsoft will continue to succeed by default. But that’s not the same as earning respect. And it’s definitely not the same as doing right by your customers.
📌 Changelog
- May 25, 2025: Article re-written to narrow focus of the article. Added image.
- Dec 18, 2006: Original article posted.
