Ready Product Mix

8/6/2019 Ready Product Mix

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Prahladrai DalmiaLions College ofCommerce &Economics

Subject: -Service Sector Management

Project on: -Product Mix Of Microsoft

Corporation

Standard: -T.Y.BMS (A)

Submitted to: -Miss Anshu


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Stu ts Name & RollNo.

Name RollNo.DishankKhandelwal 47AachikaKariwala 45

Dinesh Mali 54KamalLakhani

Farid

Parshva Mehta


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What is Product Mix?

Product mix is a combination of products manufactured or traded by the same

business house to reinforce their presence in the market, increase market

share and increase the turnover for more profitability. Normally the product

mix is within the synergy of other products for a medium size organization.However large groups of Industries may have diversified products within core

competency. Larsen & Toubro Ltd, Godrej, Reliance in India are some of the

examples.

One of the realities of business is that most firms deal with multi-products.This

helps a firm diffuse its risk across different product groups. In addition, it

enables the firm to appeal to a much larger group of customers or to different

needs of the same customer group. Therefore, when Videocon chose to

diversify into other consumer durables like music systems, washing machines

and refrigerators, it sought to satisfy the needs of the middle and uppermiddle-income group of consumers.

The number of products carried by a firm at a given point of time is called its

product mix. This product mix contains product lines and product items.In

other words its a composite of products offered for sale by a firm.

The product mix of a company, which is generally defined as the total

composite of products offered by a particular organization, consists of both

product lines and individual products.

A product line is a group of products within the product mix that are closelyrelated, either because they function in a similar manner, are sold to the same

customer groups, are marketed through the same types of outlets, or fall

within given price ranges.

A product is a distinct unit within the product line that is distinguishable by

size, price, appearance, or some other attribute.

Product decisions at these three levels are generally of two types: those that

involve width (variety) and depth (assortment) of the product line and those

that involve changes in the product mix occur over time.


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Product Lining

Product lining is the marketing strategy of offering for sale several

related products. Unlike product bundling, where several products are

combined into one, lining involves offering several related products

individually.

A line can comprise related products of various sizes, types, colors, qualities, or

prices. Line depth (assortment) of the product mix refers to the number of

product variants in a line.

Line consistency refers to how closely related the products that make up the

line are.

Line vulnerability refers to the percentage of sales or profits that are derived

from only a few products in the line.

The number of different product lines sold by a company is referred toas width (variety) of product mix.

The total number of products sold in all lines is referred to as length of product

mix.

If a line of products is sold with the same brand name, this is referred to

as family branding.

When you add a new product to a line, it is referred to as a line extension.

When you add a line extension that is of be tter quality than the other products

in the line, this is referred to as trading up or brand leveraging. When you adda line extension that is of lower quality than the other products of the line, this

is referred to as trading down. When you trade down, you will likely reduce

your brand equity. You are gaining short-term sales at the expense of long-

term sales.


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PRODUCT-MIX ANALYSIS

Since top management is ultimately responsible for the product mix and the resulting

profits or losses, they often analyze the company product mix. The first assessment

involves the area of opportunity in a particular industry or market. Opportunity is

generally defined in terms of current industry growth or potential attractiveness as

an investment. The second criterion is the company's ability to exploit opportunity,which is based on its current or potential position in the industry. The company's

position can be measured in terms of market share if it is currently in the market or

in terms of its resources if it is considering entering the market.

These two factorsopportunity and the company's ability to exploit itprovide

four different options for a company to follow.

1. High opportunity and ability to exploit it result in the firm's introducing newproducts or expanding markets for existing products to ensure future growth.

2. Low opportunity but a strong current market position will generally result inthe company's attempting to maintain its position to ensure current

profitability.

3. High opportunity but a lack of ability to exploit it results in either (a)attempting to acquire the necessary resources or (b) deciding not to further

pursue opportunity in these markets.

4. Low opportunity and a weak market position will result in eith er (a) avoidingthese markets or (b) divesting existing products in them.

These options provide a basis for the firm to evaluate new and existing products in

an attempt to achieve balance between current and future growth. This analysis maycause the product mix to change, depending on what management decides.

The most widely used approach to product portfolio analysis is the model developed

by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG). The BCG analysis emphasizes two main

criteria in evaluating the firm's product mix: the market growth rate and the

product's relative market share. BCG uses these two criteria because they are closely

related to profitability, which is why top management often uses the BCG analysis.

Proper analysis and conclusions may lead to significant changes to the company's

product mix, product line, and product offerings.

The market growth rate represents the products' category position in the product lifecycle. Products in the introductory and growth phases require more investment

because of research and development and initial marketing costs for advertising,

selling, and distribution. This category is also regarded as a high -growth area (e.g.,

the Internet). Relative market share represents the company's competitive strength

(or estimated strength for a new entry).


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Market share is compared to that of the leading competitor. Once the analysis has

been done using the market growth rate and relative market share, products are

placed into one of four categories.

y Stars: Products with high growth and market share are known as stars.Because these products have high potential for profitability, they should be

given top priority in financing, advertising, product positioning, and

distribution. As a result, they need significant amounts of cash to fi nance rapid

growth and frequently show an initial negative cash flow.

y Cash cows: Products with a high relative market share but in a low growthposition are cash cows. These profitable products generate more cash than is

required to produce and market them. Excess cash should be used to finance

high-opportunity areas (stars or problem children). Strategies for cash cows

should be designed to sustain current market share rather than to expand it.

An expansion strategy would require additional investment, thu s decreasing

the existing positive cash flow.

y Problem children: These products have low relative market share but are in ahigh-growth situation. They are called "problem children" because their

eventual direction is not yet clear. The firm should invest heavily in those that

sales forecasts indicate might have a reasonable chance to become stars.

Otherwise divestment is the best course, since problem children may become

dogs and thereby candidates for deletion.

y Dogs: Products in the category are clearly candidates for deletion. Suchproducts have low market shares and unlike problem children, have no real

prospect for growth. Eliminating a dog is not always necessary, since there are

strategies for dogs that could make them profitable in the short term. Th esestrategies involve "harvesting" these products by eliminating marketing

support and selling the product only to intensely loyal consumers who will buy

in the absence of advertising. However, over the long term companies will

seek to eliminate dogs.

As can be seen from the description of the four BCG alternatives, products are

evaluated as producers or users of cash. Products with a positive cash flow will

finance high-opportunity products that need cash. The emphasis on cash flow stems

from management's belief that it is better to finance new entries and to support

existing products with internally produced funds than to increase debt or equity in

the company.

Based on this belief, companies will normally take money from cash cows and divert

it to stars and to some problem children. The hope is that the stars will turn into cash

cows and the problem children will turn into stars. The dogs will continue to receive

lower funding and eventually be dropped.


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Introduction

Microsoft Corporation (NAS AQ: MSFT) is an American public multinational

corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops,

manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services

predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions.

Established on April 4, 1975 to develop and sell BASIC interpreters for the Altair

8800, Microsoft rose to dominate the home computer operating system market

withMS-DOS in the mid-1980s, followed by the Microsoft Windows line of operating

systems.

Microsoft would also come to dominate the office suite market with Microsoft

Office. The company has diversified in recent years into the video with the Xbox and

its successor, the Xbox 360 as well as into the consumer electronics and digital

services market with Zune, MSN and the Windows Phone OS. The ensuing rise of

stock in the company's 1986 initial public offering (IPO) made an estimated 4

billionaires and 12,000 millionaires from Microsoft employees. In May 2011,Microsoft Corporation acquired Skype Communications for $8.5 billion dollars.

[1]

Primarily in the 1990s, critics contend Microsoft used monopolistic business practices

and anti-competitive strategies including deal and tying, put unreasonable

restrictions in the use of its software, and used misrepresentative marketing tactics;

both the U.S. Department of Justice and European Commission found the company

in violation of antitrust laws. Known for its interviewing process with obscure

questions, various studies and ratings were generally favor able to Microsoft's

diversity within the company as well as its overall environmental impact with the

exception of the electronics portion of the business.


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History

Paul Allen and Bill Gates, childhood friends with a

passion in computer programming, were seeking to

make a successful business utilizing their shared

skills. The January 1975 issue of Popular

Electronics featured Micro Instrumentation and

Telemetry Systems's (MITS) Altair

8800microcomputer. Allen noticed that they could

program a BASIC interpreter for the device; after a call from Gates claiming to have a

working interpreter, MITS requested a demonstration. Since they didn't actually have

one, Allen worked on a simulator for the Altair while Gates developed the

interpreter. Although they developed the interpreter on a simulator and not the

actual device, the interpreter worked flawlessly when they demonstrated the

interpreter to MITS in Albuquerque, New Mexico in March 1975; MITS agreed to

distribute it, marketing it as Altair BASIC.[4]

They officially established Microsoft on

April 4, 1975, with Gates as the CEO.[5] Allen came up with the original name of"Micro-Soft," as recounted in a 1995 Fortune magazine article. In August 1977 the

company formed an agreement with ASCII Magazine in Japan, resulting in its first

international office, "ASCII Microsoft".[6] The company moved to a new home

in Bellevue, Washington in January 1979. [5]

Microsoft entered the OS business in 1980 with its own version of Unix,

called Xenix.However, it was DOS (Disk Operating System) that solidified the

company's dominance. After negotiations with Digital Research failed, IBM awarded

a contract to Microsoft in November 1980 to provide a version of the CP/M OS,

which was set to be used in the upcoming IBM Personal Computer (IBM PC).

[8]

Forthis deal, Microsoft purchased a CP/M clone called 86-DOS from Seattle Computer

Products, branding it as MS-DOS, which IBM rebranded to PC-DOS. Following the

release of the IBM PC in August 1981, Microsoft retained ownership of MS -DOS.

Since IBM copyrighted the IBM PC BIOS, other companies had to reverse engineer it

in order for non-IBM hardware to run as IBM PC compatibles, but no such restriction

applied to the operating systems. Due to various factors, such as MS DOSs available

software selection, Microsoft eventually became the leading PC OS vendor.[3][9]

The

company expanded into new markets with the release of the Microsoft Mouse in

1983, as well as a publishing division named Microsoft.[10]

Paul Allen resigned from

Microsoft in February after developing Hodgkin's disease.[11]


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19841994: WindowsandOffice

While jointly developing a new OS with IBM in 1984, OS/2, Microsoft

released Microsoft Windows, a graphical extension for MS -DOS, on November

20.[12]Microsoft moved its headquarters to Redmond on February 26, 1986, and on

March 13 the company went public;[13] the ensuing rise in the stock would make an

estimated four billionaires and 12,000 millionaires from Microsoft employees.[14]

Dueto the partnership with IBM, in 1990 the Federal Trade Commission set its eye on

Microsoft for possible collusion; it marked the beginning of over a decade of legal

clashes with the U.S. Government.[15]

Microsoft announced the release of its version

of OS/2 to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) on April 2, 1987; [16] meanwhile,

the company was at work on a 32-bit OS, Microsoft Windows NT, using ideas from

OS/2; it shipped on July 21, 1993 with a new modular kernel and

the Win32 application programming interface (API), making porting from 16-bit (MS-

DOS-based) Windows easier. Once Microsoft informed IBM of NT, the OS/2

partnership deteriorated.[17]

Microsoft introduced its office suite, Microsoft Office, in 1990. The software bundled

separate office productivity applications, such as Microsoft Word and Microsoft

Excel.[18] On May 22 Microsoft launchedWindows 3.0 with a streamlined user

interface graphics and improved protected mode capability for the Intel

386 processor.[19]

Both Office and Windows became dominant in their respective

areas.[20][21]Novell, a Word competitor from 19841986, filed a lawsuit years later

claiming that Microsoft left part of its APIs undocumented in order to gain a

competitive advantage.[22]

On July 27, 1994, the U.S. Department of Justice, Antitrust Division filed a

Competitive Impact Statement that said, in part: "Beginning in 1988, and continuinguntil July 15, 1994, Microsoft induced many OEMs to execute anticompetitive "per

processor" licenses. Under a per processor license, an OEM pays Microsoft a royalty

for each computer it sells containing a particular microprocessor, whether the OEM

sells the computer with a Microsoft operating system or a non -Microsoft operating

system. In effect, the royalty payment to Microsoft when no Microsoft product is

being used acts as a penalty, or tax, on the OEM's use of a competing PC operating

system. Since 1988, Microsoft's use of per processor licenses has increased."[23]


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19952005: Internetandthe 32-bitera

Following Bill Gates internal "Internet Tidal Wave

memo" on May 26, 1995, Microsoft began to

redefine its offerings and expand its product line

into computer networking and the World Wide

Web.[24]

The company released Windows 95 onAugust 24, 1995, featuring pre-emptive

multitasking, a completely new user interface with

a novel start button, and 32-bit compatibility;

similar to NT, it provided the Win32 API. [25][26] Windows 95 came bundled with

the online service MSN, and for OEMs Internet Explorer, a web browser. Internet

Explorer was not bundled with the retail Windows 95 boxes because the boxes were

printed before the team finished the web browser, and instead was included in the

Windows 95 Plus! pack.[27]

Branching out into new markets in 1996, Microsoft

and NBC Universal created a new24/7 cable news station, MSNBC.[28]

Microsoft

created Windows CE 1.0, a new OS designed for devices with low memory and otherconstraints, such as personal digital assistants.[29]

In October 1997, the Justice

Department filed a motion in the Federal District Court, stating that Microsoft

violated an agreement signed in 1994 and asked the court to stop the bundling of

Internet Explorer with Windows.[30]

Bill Gates handed over the CEO position on January 13, 2000 to Steve Ballmer, an old

college friend of Gates and employee of the company since 1980, creating a new

position for himself as Chief Software Architect.[5][31]

Various companies including

Microsoft formed the Trusted Computing Platform Alliance in October 1999 to,

among other things, increase security and protect intellectual property through

identifying changes in hardware and software. Critics decry the alliance as a way to

enforce indiscriminate restrictions over how consumers use software, and over how

computers behave, a form of digital rights management; for example the scenario

where a computer is not only secured for its owner, but also secured against its

owner as well.[32][33]

On April 3, 2000, a judgment was handed down in the case of

United,[34]

calling the company an "abusive monopoly";[35]

it settled with the U.S.

Department of Justice in 2004.[13]

On October 25, 2001 Microsoft released Windows

XP, unifying the mainstream and NT lines under the NT codebase.[36]

The company

released the Xbox later that year, entering the game console market dominated

by Sony and Nintendo.[37]

In March 2004 the European Union brought antitrust legal

action against the company, citing it abused its dominance with the Windows OS,resulting in a judgment of 497 million ($613 million) and to produce new versions of

Windows XP without Windows Media Player, Windows XP Home Edition N and

Windows XP Professional N.[38][39]


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2006present: VistaandCloudcomputing

Released in January 2007, the next version of

Windows, Windows Vista, focused on features,

security, and a redesigned user interface

dubbed Aero.[41][42]Microsoft Office 2007,

released at the same time, featured a "Ribbon"user interface which was a significant departure

from its predecessors. Relatively strong sales of

both titles helped to produce a record profit in 2007.[43]

The European Union

imposed another fine of 899 million ($1.4 billion) for Microsoft's lack of compliance

with the March 2004 judgment on February 27, 200 8, saying that the company

charged rivals unreasonable prices for key information about

its workgroup and backofficeservers. Microsoft stated that it was in compliance and

that "these fines are about the past issues that have been resolved".[44]

Bill Gates retired from his role as Chief Software Architect on June 27, 2008 while

retaining other positions related to the company in addition to being an advisor for

the company on key projects.[45]

Azure Services Platform, the company's entry into

the cloud computing market for Windows, launched on October 27, 2008.[46] On

February 12, 2009, Microsoft announced its intent to open a chain of Microsoft-

branded retail stores, and on October 22, 2009 the first retail Microsoft Store opened

in Scottsdale, Arizona; the same day the first store opened Windows 7 was officially

released to the public. Windows 7's focus was on refining Vista with ease of use

features and performance enhancements, rather than a large reworking of

Windows.[47][48][49]

Microsoft is a founding member of the Open Networking Foundation started onMarch 23, 2011. Other founding companies include Google, HP

Networking, Yahoo,Verizon, Deutsche Telekom and 17 other companies. The

nonprofit organization is focused on providing support for a new cloud

computing initiative called Software-Defined Networking.[50] The initiative is meant

to speed innovation through simple software changes in telecommunications

networks, wireless networks, data centers and other networking areas.[51]


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Productdivisions

For the 2010 fiscal year, Microsoft had five product divisions: Windows & Windows

Live Division, Server and Tools, Online Services Division, Microsoft Business Division,

and Entertainment and Devices Division.

Windows & WindowsLiveDivision,ServerandTools,

OnlineServicesDivision

The company's Client division produces the flagship Windows OS line such

as Windows 7; it also produces the Windows Live family of products and services.

Server and Tools produces the server versions of Windows, such as Windows Server

2008 R2 as well as a set of development tools called Microsoft Visual

Studio, Microsoft Silverlight, a web application framework, and Systems

Management Server, a collection of tools providing remote-control abilities, patch

management, software distribution and a hardware/software inventory. Other

server products include: Microsoft SQL Server, a database management

system, Microsoft Exchange Server, for certain business-oriented e-mail and

scheduling features, Small Business Server, for messaging and other small business -

oriented features; and Microsoft BizTalk Server, for business process management.

Microsoft provides IT consulting ("Microsoft Consulting Services") and produces a set

of certification programs handled by the Server and Tools division designed to

recognize individuals who have a minimal set of proficiencies in a specific role; this

includes developers ("Microsoft Certified Solution Developer"), system/network

analysts ("Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer"), trainers ("Microsoft Certified

Trainers") and administrators ("Microsoft Certified SystemsAdministrator" and "Microsoft Certified Database Administrator"). Microsoft Press,

which publishes books, is also managed by the division. The Online Services Business

division handles the online service MSN and the search engine Bing. As of December

2009, the company also possesses an 18% ownership of the cable

news channel MSNBC without any editorial control; however, the division develops

the channel's website, msnbc.com, in a joint venture with the channel's co-

owner, NBC Universal.[52]


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BusinessDivision

The Microsoft Business Division produces Microsoft Office including Microsoft Office

2010, the company's line of office software. The software product includes Word(a

word

processor), Access (a relationaldatabase program), Excel (a spreadsheet program), O

utlook (Groupware, frequently used with Exchange Server), PowerPoint(presentation

software), and Publisher (desktop publishing software). A number of other products

were added later with the release of Office 2003

including Visio,Project, MapPoint, InfoPath and OneNote. The division also

develops enterprise resource planning (ERP) software for companies under

the Dynamics brand. These include: Microsoft Dynamics AX, Microsoft Dynamics

NAV, Microsoft Dynamics GP, and Microsoft Dynamics SL. They are targeted at

varying company types and countries, and limited to organizations with under 7,500

employees. Also included under the Dynamics brand is the customer relationship

management software Microsoft Dynamics CRM, part of the Azure Services Platform.

EntertainmentandDevicesDivision

The Entertainment and Devices Division produces the Windows CE OS for embedded

systems and Windows Phone 7 for smartphones.[54]

Microsoft initially entered the

mobile market through Windows CE for handheld devices , eventually developing into

the Windows Mobile OS and now, Windows Phone 7. Windows CE is designed for

devices where the OS may not directly be visible to the end user, in particular,

appliances and cars. The division also produces computer games that run on

Windows PCs and other systems including titles such as Age of Empires, Halo and

the Microsoft Flight Simulator series, and houses the Macintosh Business Unit which

produces Mac OS software including Microsoft Office 2011 for Mac. Microsoft's

Entertainment and Devices Division desi gns, markets, and manufactures consumerelectronics including the Xbox 360 game console, the handheld Zune media player,

and the television-based Internet appliance MSN TV. Microsoft also markets personal

computer hardware including mice, keyboards, and various game controllerssuch

as joysticks and gamepads.


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Corporateaffairs

The company is run by a board of directors made up of mostly company outsiders, as

is customary for publicly traded companies. Members of the board of directors as of

June 2010 are: Steve Ballmer, Dina Dublon, Bill Gates (chairman), Raymond

Gilmartin, Reed Hastings, Maria Klawe, David Marquardt, Charles Noski, and Helmut

Panke.[66] Board members are elected every year at the annual shareholders' meetin g

using a majority vote system. There are five committees within the board which

oversee more specific matters. These committees include the Audit Committee,

which handles accounting issues with the company including auditing and reporting;

the Compensation Committee, which approves compensation for the CEO and other

employees of the company; the Finance Committee, which handles financial matters

such as proposing mergers and acquisitions; the Governance and Nominating

Committee, which handles various corpo rate matters including nomination of the

board; and the Antitrust Compliance Committee, which attempts to prevent

company practices from violating antitrust laws.[67]

Five year history graph of (NASDAQ:MSFT stock on September 29, 2009.

When Microsoft went public and launched its initial public offering (IPO) in 1986, the

opening stock price was $21; after the trading day, the price closed at $27.75. As of

July 2010, with the company's nine stock splits, any IPO shares would be multiplied

by 288; if one was to buy the IPO today given the splits and other factors, it would

cost about 9 cents.[69][70][71]

The stock price peaked in 1999 at around $119 ($60.928

adjusting for splits).[72]

The company began to offer a dividend on January 16, 2003,

starting at eight cents per share for the fiscal year followed by a dividend of sixteen

cents per share the subsequent year, switching from yearly to quarterly dividends in

2005 with eight cents a share per quarter and a special one-time payout of three

dollars per share for the second quarter of the fiscal year.[72][73] Though the company

had subsequent increases in dividend payouts, the price ofMicrosoft's stock

remained steady for years. [73][74]

One ofMicrosoft's business tactics, described by an executive as " embrace, extend

and extinguish," initially embraces a competing standard or product, then extends it

to produce their own version which is then incompatible with the standard, which in

time extinguishes competition that does not or cannot use Microsoft's new


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version.[75]

Various companies and governments sue Microsoft over this set of

tactics, resulting in billions of dollars in rulings against the

company.[76][34][39]

Microsoft claims that the original strategy is not anti -competitive,

but rather an exercise of its discretion to implement features it believes customers

want.[77]

Financial

Standard and Poor's and Moody's have both given a AAA rating to Microsoft, whose

assets were valued at $41 billion as compared to only $8.5 billion in unsecured debt.

Consequently, in February 2011 Microsoft released a corporate bond amounting to

$2.25 billion with relatively low borrowing rates compared to government bonds.[78]

For the first time in 20 years Apple Inc. surpassed Microsoft in Q1 2011 quarterly

profits and revenues due to a slowdown in PC sales and continuin g huge losses in

Microsoft's Online Services Division (which contains its search engine Bing).

Microsoft profits were $5.2 billion, while Apple Inc. profits were $6 billion, on

revenues of $14.5 billion and $24.7 billion respectively. [79]

Microsoft's Online Services Division has been continuously loss -making since 2006

and in Q1 2011 it lost $726 million. This follows a loss of $2.5 billion for the year

2010.[80]

Environment

Microsoft is ranked on the 17th place in Green peaces Guide to Greener Electronics

that ranks 18 electronics manufacturers according to their policies on toxic

chemicals, recycling and climate change. [81]Microsofts timeline for phasing out BFRsand phthalates in all products is 2012 but its commitment to phasing out PVC is not

clear. As yet (January 2011) it has no products that are completely free from PVC and

BFRs.[82]

Microsoft's main U.S. campus received a silver certification from the Leadership in

Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program in 2008, and it installed over 2,000

solar panels on top of its buildings in its Silicon Valley campus, generating

approximately 15 percent of the total ener gy needed by the facilities in April 2005.[83]

Microsoft makes use of alternative forms of transit. It created one of the worldslargest private bus systems, the "Connector", to transport people from outside the

company; for on-campus transportation, the "Shuttle Connect" uses a large fleet of

hybrid cars to save fuel. The company also subsidies regional public transport as an

incentive.[83][84]

In February 2010 however, Microsoft took a stance against adding

additional public transport and high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes to a bridge

connecting Redmond to Seattle; the company did not want to delay the construction

any further.[85]


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Marketing

In 2004, Microsoft commissioned research firms to do independent studies

comparing the total cost of ownership (TCO) of Windows Server 2003 to Linux; the

firms concluded that companies found Windows easier to administrate th an Linux,

thus those using Windows would administrate faster resulting in lower costs for their

company (i.e. lower TCO).[86]

This spurred a wave of related studies; a study by theYankee concluded that upgrading from one version of Windows Server to another

costs a fraction of the switching costs from Windows Server to Linux, although

companies surveyed noted the increased security and reliability ofLinux ser vers and

concern about being locked into using Microsoft products. [87] Another study,

released by the OSDL, claimed that the Microsoft studies were "simply outdated and

one-sided" and their survey concluded that the TCO ofLinux was lower due to Linux

administrators managing more servers on average an d other reasons.[88]

As part of the "Get the Facts" campaign Microsoft highlighted the .NET trading

platform that it had developed in partnership with Accenture for the London Stock

Exchange, claiming that it provided "five nines" reliability. After suffering extended

downtime and unreliability[89][90]

the LSE announced in 2009 that it was planning to

drop its Microsoft solution and switch to a Linux based one in 2010.[91][92]

Microsoft adopted the so-called "Pac-ManLogo", designed by Scott Baker, in 1987.

Baker stated "The new logo, in Helvetica italic typeface, has a slash between

the o and s to emphasize the "soft" part of the name and convey motion and

speed."[93]

Dave Norris ran an internal joke campaign to save the old logo, which was

green, in all uppercases, and featured a fanciful letter O, nicknamed the blibbet, but

it was discarded.[94]

Microsoft's logo with the "Your potential. Our passion. " tagline

below the main corporate name is based on a slogan Microsoft used in 2008. In2002, the company started using the logo in the United States and eventually started

a TV campaign with the slogan, changed from the previous tagline of "Where do you

want to go today?".[95][96][97] During the private MGX (Microsoft Global Exchange)

conference in 2010, Microsoft unveiled the company's next tagline, "Be What's

Next.", as well as a new logo scheduled for use sometime in the future. [98]


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Microsoft "blibbet" logo, filed August 26, 1982 at the USPTO and used until 1987.

Microsoft "Pac-Man" logo, designed by Scott Baker and used since 1987, with the

19942002 slogan "Where do you want to go today?".

Microsoft logo as of20062011, with the slogan "Your potential. Our passion."

Logo by Microsoft with the slogan BeWhats Next."2011present.


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PRODUCTMIXOFMICROSOFT

PRODUCT

A product is anything that can be offered to a market for attention, acquisition,

use, or consumption that might satisfy a want or need.

A product is anything that satisfies a need or wants and can be offered in the

exchange. A product can be goods, service or idea. Without product, there is no

marketing. This includes product variety, quality, product design, and brand name,

sizes, warranties.


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LISTOFMICROSOFTPRODUCTS

Products1. Bing2. Internet Explorer3. Microsoft Advertising4. All Office products5. All Windows products6. Microsoft Security Essentials7. Windows Live

Businesssoftware1. All Microsoft business products2. All server products3. Microsoft Dynamics ERP & CRM4. Cloud services5. Bing Maps6. Microsoft Amalga7. Microsoft Forefront8. Microsoft Office Live9. Microsoft Online Services10.Windows Small Business Server

Developertools1. .NET Framework2. ASP.NET3. MSDN Subscriptions4. Robotics Developer Studio5. Visual Basic6. Visual C7. Visual C#8. Visual Studio9. XNA10.Developer Centers

Entertainment1. DirectX2. Microsoft Mediaroom3. MSN4. MSN Games5. MSNBC6. PC gaming7. Windows Media Center8. Xbox home9. Xbox LIVE10.Zune


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22/26

MicrosoftsProductMix

Length

MicrosoftsProductMix

Microsofts Product Mix Width

Products Business

software

Developertools Entertainment Design &

user

experience

Bing AllMicrosoftbusiness

products

.NET

Framework

DirectX Microsoft

Expression

Internet

Explorer

Allserver

products

ASP.NET Microsoft

Mediaroom

Microsoft

Silverlight

Microsoft

Advertising

Microsoft

Dynamics

ERP & CRM

MSDN

Subscriptions

MSN

AllOffice

products

Cloud

services

Robotics

DeveloperStudio

MSN Games

AllWindows

products

BingMaps VisualBasic MSNBC

Microsoft

Security

Essentials

Microsoft

Amalga

VisualC PCgaming

WindowsLive Microsoft

Forefront

VisualC# WindowsMediaCenter

Microsoft

OfficeLive

VisualStudio Xboxhome

Microsoft

OnlineServices

XNA XboxLIVE

Windows

Small

Business

Server

Developer

Centers

Zune


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MicrosoftsProduct

Mix

Length

Microsofts Product Mix Width

Hardware Home &

educational

software

Macintosh Mobile

devices &

software

Servers

AllPChardware AutoCollage AllMacintosh

products

Microsoft

MyPhone

Allserver

products

Digital

communications

HealthVault Mac

Expression

Microsoft

Tag

BizTalk

Server

MicrosoftSurface Money Macmouse &

keyboard

products

Mobile

software

catalog

Exchange

Server

Mouse &

keyboardproducts

MSNDirect MacOffice Ultra-

MobilePC

Servertrials

PCgaming

hardware

MSNInternet

access

Windows

LiveMobile

SharePoint

Server

Xboxgaming Office Home &

Student

Windows

Phone

SQLServer

Songsmith Windows

mobile

devices

Windows

Server

Streets &

TripsWindows

HomeServer

Works

WorldWide

Telescope


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Product-Width

The width of a product mix refers to the total number of items in the mix.

Example:The total numbers of items are 10.

1.Products2.Businesssoftware3.Developertools4.Entertainment5.Design & userexperience6.Hardware7.Home & educationalsoftware8.Macintosh9. Mobiledevices & software 10.Servers

Product-length

The length of a product mix refers to the total number of items in the mix.

Example:

The total Length ofMicrosofts Product mix is 75.

The Total width ofMicrosofts Product mix is 10 (No of lines).

Hence, the average product length is (Total Length / Number of lines) = 75/10is less than 8.

Product-Depth

The depth of a product mix refers to how many variants are offered of each

product in the line.


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Microsofts Product Mix-Depth

Name of the Product Variants

Windows Windows 7Windows Internet Explorer

Windows Phone

Windows Compatibility CenterWindows Help & How-to

Windows Service Packs

Windows Vista

Windows XP

Windows Automotive

Windows Azure

Windows Embedded

Windows Hardware Developers

Windows Media Center

Windows Media Player

Earlier Windows VersionsWindows Downloads

Windows Servers Windows ServerWindows Small Business Server

Windows Home Server

Windows Server Update Services

Windows Live Windows Live HomeWindows Live Essentials

Windows Live Hotmail

Windows Live Mail

Windows Live Messenger

Windows Live Mobile

Windows Live Movie Maker

Windows Live OneCare

Windows Live Photo Gallery

Windows Live SkyDrive

Office All Office productsHome &Student

Office for Business

Office Servers

Office Trials

Office Web Apps

Product Information


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BIBLIOGRAPHY www.google.com

www.microsoft.com

Documents

Ready Product Mix