What I would love to see from Microsoft...
While awaiting Windows Phone 8.1 Microsoft has announced that it plans to continue delivering monthly updates to the Xbox One for the foreseeable future.
In light of this, device updates to Windows Phone seem few and far between, even though as far as feature releases are concerned, they drastically outpace Windows desktop OS updates.
One of the reasons for the delays is the carriers, who have to basically test and approve every major update. But, I question the validity of that. The carriers may add specific apps, but nothing really substantive in terms of firmware or drivers. Or at least, nothing in those terms which is actually needed. And secondly, feature updates need not touch the aspects of the system which a carrier might rely upon.
For this reason, I'd love to see Windows Phone adopt the same monthly feature release cycle present on the Xbox One. Instead of small bursts of a bunch of new features that we need to wait agonizingly long for, a steady stream of smaller new features selected in part based on user feedback would rapidly improve the general consumer opinion of the platform.
Furthermore, there is no reason it can't delivered in a similar fashion to the Xbox Updates with selected users being able to opt in to test and preview the updates a month ahead of a general release. Right now, with the state of Windows Phone and the pace of updates, virtually everyone feels the need to do the dev unlock to get access to preview builds. But with a more regular and more frequent release cycle, more people will be willing to stay on official supported builds and not feel like they are being jilted.
The other serious problem Microsoft has is with its services. 10+ years ago when more of their growth and revenue came from the US their strategy made a lot of sense. And that strategy is that, when Microsoft releases a new service, it is generally available in the US only originally, and it can stay that way for quite some time. Each service obviously has its own reasons for not having simultaneous launches world wide, but, when most of your companies growth is outside of those borders they really need to invest the effort to get as many countries included as quickly as possible.
Delaying a US launch until global launch dates are closer actually makes a lot of sense. The problem is in building up the hype and either not delivering before it dies down, or allowing someone else to capitalize on the hype and beat you to the punch line.
Some examples of this are Zune Music Pass (now Xbox Music Pass), Cortana, OneGuide, and the list goes on.
For Xbox Music they needed deals with studios, but that doesn't mean you can't deliver a more limited catalogue ahead of time with additional perks during months while content ramps up.
Cortana needed localization work done but given the size and complexity of the US, the notion that other groups couldn't be doing that work in other countries and be done on time or around the same time is non-sense. And it should be done by separate groups. Microsoft Canada should handle the Canadian implementation, and so forth. By not leaving it up to a single group they can work faster, but also, delegating to regional offices and affiliates means delivering content regional users will expect.
OneGuide was another feature that required some level of buy-in by regional media outlets. But, they didn't just block the channel surfing, they also cut off the ability to have the Xbox control those devices. I can't think of a reason to not allow my Kinect to turn my hardware on or off or even control channel changing by channel number or manage volume.
I'm sure there are other services they have done the same with. These are simply the ones I've had personal experience with.
Circling back now. I can understand why Microsoft doesn't do monthly feature releases on Windows. It is a much larger, much more complex, much more widely used product. Efforts are better spent delivering regular bug and security fixes. And we do get those weekly. But if Microsoft could also, for each other mainstream product OS they have, commit to doing monthly feature releases on whatever version is the current version and if they could get their act together and deliver their services globally in a more timely fashion, then I fail to see a reason why Microsoft can't regain its prominence in all markets.
In light of this, device updates to Windows Phone seem few and far between, even though as far as feature releases are concerned, they drastically outpace Windows desktop OS updates.
One of the reasons for the delays is the carriers, who have to basically test and approve every major update. But, I question the validity of that. The carriers may add specific apps, but nothing really substantive in terms of firmware or drivers. Or at least, nothing in those terms which is actually needed. And secondly, feature updates need not touch the aspects of the system which a carrier might rely upon.
For this reason, I'd love to see Windows Phone adopt the same monthly feature release cycle present on the Xbox One. Instead of small bursts of a bunch of new features that we need to wait agonizingly long for, a steady stream of smaller new features selected in part based on user feedback would rapidly improve the general consumer opinion of the platform.
Furthermore, there is no reason it can't delivered in a similar fashion to the Xbox Updates with selected users being able to opt in to test and preview the updates a month ahead of a general release. Right now, with the state of Windows Phone and the pace of updates, virtually everyone feels the need to do the dev unlock to get access to preview builds. But with a more regular and more frequent release cycle, more people will be willing to stay on official supported builds and not feel like they are being jilted.
The other serious problem Microsoft has is with its services. 10+ years ago when more of their growth and revenue came from the US their strategy made a lot of sense. And that strategy is that, when Microsoft releases a new service, it is generally available in the US only originally, and it can stay that way for quite some time. Each service obviously has its own reasons for not having simultaneous launches world wide, but, when most of your companies growth is outside of those borders they really need to invest the effort to get as many countries included as quickly as possible.
Delaying a US launch until global launch dates are closer actually makes a lot of sense. The problem is in building up the hype and either not delivering before it dies down, or allowing someone else to capitalize on the hype and beat you to the punch line.
Some examples of this are Zune Music Pass (now Xbox Music Pass), Cortana, OneGuide, and the list goes on.
For Xbox Music they needed deals with studios, but that doesn't mean you can't deliver a more limited catalogue ahead of time with additional perks during months while content ramps up.
Cortana needed localization work done but given the size and complexity of the US, the notion that other groups couldn't be doing that work in other countries and be done on time or around the same time is non-sense. And it should be done by separate groups. Microsoft Canada should handle the Canadian implementation, and so forth. By not leaving it up to a single group they can work faster, but also, delegating to regional offices and affiliates means delivering content regional users will expect.
OneGuide was another feature that required some level of buy-in by regional media outlets. But, they didn't just block the channel surfing, they also cut off the ability to have the Xbox control those devices. I can't think of a reason to not allow my Kinect to turn my hardware on or off or even control channel changing by channel number or manage volume.
I'm sure there are other services they have done the same with. These are simply the ones I've had personal experience with.
Circling back now. I can understand why Microsoft doesn't do monthly feature releases on Windows. It is a much larger, much more complex, much more widely used product. Efforts are better spent delivering regular bug and security fixes. And we do get those weekly. But if Microsoft could also, for each other mainstream product OS they have, commit to doing monthly feature releases on whatever version is the current version and if they could get their act together and deliver their services globally in a more timely fashion, then I fail to see a reason why Microsoft can't regain its prominence in all markets.
Comments
Post a Comment