Microsoft Corporation's Hostile Take Over of Red Hat Linux
Table of Contents
I. Executive Summary 3
II. Current Marketing Situation 4
Industry Structure 4
Product/Product Line and Market position. 6
Major Customers and Market Segments Served. 6
Other Products/Product Lines. 7
III Opportunity and Issue Analysis 9
SWOT Analysis. 9
Competitors and Their Strengths and Weaknesses. 11
IV. Objectives 13
Sales Objectives 13
Profit Objectives 13
Customer Objectives 14
V. Marketing Strategy 14
Product Strategy 14
Pricing Strategy 14
Distribution Strategy 15
VI Promotional Strategy Action Programs 15
VII. Profit and Loss Statement 16
VIII Controls 16
IX. Conclusion 17
X. Bibliography: 18
I. Executive Summary
Microsoft, the leading manufacturer of personal computer software with its windows based operating systems and application software, has decided to expand its influence beyond windows into the Linux freeware operating system world. The means for entry into this rapidly growing segment of the server operating system market is through a takeover of the Red Hat Linux Company. Currently Microsoft Corporation now owns 51% of the stock for Red Hat Linux. This expansion directly into the Linux arena will provide Microsoft with the ability to attack competitors in the network server market with the Windows NT and Windows 2000 operating systems on one flank and with the extremely stable Linux operating system on the other flank. Microsoft expects to use this one-two punch to significantly gain market share in the server market and to shape the future of business LANs, WANs and the internet. Additionally, Microsoft expects to gain a controlling market share of the Linux office application suite wit...
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I was very interested in computers and technology as a child, both playing games and building fake parts for them. Still in elementary school, I was fascinated by these computing machines, spending hours on end working with DOS to satisfy my curiosity. Around my middle school years, Windows became graphical, and I found interest in even more computer games with even greater experiences and capabilities. Windows was the dominant operating system at the time, but I was soon to find there was a whole different world out there of operating systems. While out on vacation in Washington, DC, my Dad and I were able to meet with the local Tech Fanatics group, HackDC. It was here where I discovered Linux. Linux, an alternative to Windows, immediately grabbed my attention when I saw it in use. It appeared to me as something that only the extreme computer users even heard of. Upon my return home,
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A second barrier to entry is switching costs. When IBM and Apple were the only computer systems to choose from people had to make a choice. When you went to buy one system then you had to buy all the software that went along with that system. Ultimately, IBM became the mor...
Open source vs. proprietary: Both have advantages By John Carroll, Special to ZDNet, Retrieved May 19, 2008 from [http://www.zdnet.com.au/news/software/0,2000061733,39148762,00.htm]
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Then came Linus Benedict Torvalds. At the time he was a sophomore majoring in Computer Science at the University of Helsinki, his hobby also included computer programming. At 21 he found himself spending most of his time toying with computer systems, trying to see what he could do in order to push their limits and increase their functionality. The key missing in his tests was an operating system that had the flexibility craved for by professionals. MINIX was available, though it was still just a stu...
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