“International Data Corp. (IDC) is arguing in a report that
Microsoft Corp. and the industry would be better off if the company
was broken up.”
“Microsoft offspring, divided along operating-system,
application, tools and database lines, would then be free to offer
products for other operating systems “and get away from the
stranglehold of the NT-only platform,” said one of the report’s
authors, Tony Picardi, an analyst at the Framingham, Mass.-based
company. The report was prepared for clients of IDC.”
“Microsoft’s continued goal of selling comprehensive,
Windows-specific packages to customers is “unrealistic,” said
Picardi. Offering Microsoft-only solutions “is the same thing as
saying ‘We’re not going to trade with you unless you speak
English.’ “
“IDC believes the company could be divided along
operating-systems and middleware lines; tools and databases;
applications; hardware devices; and content and
telecommunications.”