Some people may not remember this, but there was indeed a time before Wikipedia. And during that time, people would actually go door-to-door with these things called encyclopedias. Encyclopedia salesmen were shrewd folk: they’d give away a volume or two for free, and hope that the customer would be so enamored with the utility of their encyclopedia that they’d send away for more in the mail.

Microsoft’s SharePoint strategy is strikingly similar to that of a clever encyclopedia salesman: give away a small portion of the functionality for free (Windows Sharepoint Services), and hope that later on, when broader needs arise, the customer will come back for the full stack (Microsoft Office SharePoint Server). It’s a bit of a gamble, but it seems to be working for them, especially at what appears to be their primary goal: continue to keep Microsoft Office at the center of the daily activity for the average knowledge worker.

So how could that strategy become a problem for them? Well, let’s take a look at the top four threats…

Threat #4: Windows Vista

Windows Vista, with all of its ridiculous hardware requirements, bloated UI, excessive DRM, and bizarre security pop-up windows, has clearly given Microsoft a black eye. Some companies are even looking at waiting for Windows 7 to be released in hopes that it resolves the issues with Vista. But even worse than waiting for Windows 7: more customers are turning to alternate operating systems, including Apple and various Linux distributions (Ubuntu, Fedora Core, SuSE, and Debian). Vista has seriously eroded consumer confidence in Microsoft as a brand. And in switching OSes, many users are also looking into switching their desktop office suite, including tools like OpenOffice and Thunderbird for email.

Without a need for tight integration with Microsoft Office on the desktop, SharePoint simply becomes less attractive as a collaborative web solution.

Threat #3: Linux

Traditionally, Microsoft Windows Server has been the choice for all sizes of workgroups across the enterprise. And when corporate IT is strapped with the responsibility to deliver a collaborative web environment for a team or workgroup inside the enterprise, Windows SharePoint Services are the natural choice given that it comes free with Windows and is easy to deploy — not to mention the fact that Microsoft advertises it to the Administrator every time they log in!

Microsoft’s SharePoint strategy is largely aligned with their push to keep Windows Server in the top seat as a server OS of choice for enterprise workgroups of all sizes. But that domination may not last much longer. Linux is quickly eating into Windows’ server market. According to IDC, linux server hardware and software spending will increase 25.2% annually through 2011. That growth is likely to come at the cost of the Windows Server market, severely diluting the possibility that someone from IT may choose SharePoint over some other OpenSource solution bundled with whichever linux distribution is used.

Threat #2: The iPhone/iTouch

It may seem like a stretch to imagine that something like the iPhone and iTouch could possibly threaten Microsoft’s SharePoint strategy, but consider this for a moment: the iPhone and iTouch represent the first commercially successful, (nearly) fully capable mobile-sized Internet browsing devices to hit the market. And while initially that may not seem important, here’s another thing to consider: 60% of iPhone users describe themselves as “very satisfied” with their devices — far higher than any other type of mobile device. The trend is clear: the iPhone and iTouch will help to set-off a new wave of sophisticated mobile Internet browsing devices, making it more possible than ever to have a rich Internet experience from just about any populated area on the planet. In a very short amount of time, more and more business users will be using these devices to access company resources, and what better method to deliver that data than through standard web pages which wouldn’t require any additional client software to read or modify.

UPDATE: MSNBC recently reported on the upswing in popularity of and demand for smartphone devices.

Threat #1: Wikis

Wikipedia, built on top of MediaWiki, has put a dent in the sales of classic encyclopedia collections. The idea is simple and elegant, which is why it is so appealing. Anyone with a web browser, from anyplace around the globe, can contribute to content within Wikipedia. All revisions are tracked and stored, and any updates to the MediaWiki software won’t require re-installation of any client software. Content is stored in a standard format (text/html), so it is easily reusable and re-distributable, which isn’t necessarily true for traditional office documents.

Microsoft clearly understands that this is the future, but they aren’t totally giving up on Office as a client yet. Windows SharePoint Services offers basic Wiki functionality, but it is very limited compared with other types of OpenSource and commercially available Wiki solutions. Microsoft has also repeatedly tried to launch Office Live services, but you’re only able to view versions in a web format, and comment on them.

Granted, there are two commonly noted problems about Wikis: 1.) You have to be online to view or update them, and 2.) They don’t always print out nicely from the browser. These seem like fairly straightforward problems to solve; Google Gears and FireFox 3 may solve the offline updating problem very soon, and many Wiki solutions now feature a “save to PDF” option, which prints in a much cleaner format than a standard web page.

As Wiki solutions continue to mature their features and capabilities, consumers will naturally gravitate towards them as the preferred solution for document publishing.

Conclusion

Windows SharePoint Services provide good, basic team collaboration in an Intranet environment for free, but clearly the aim is to secure Office as the desktop productivity suite. As Microsoft customers continue to lose confidence and patience with Microsoft, many will turn to available web-based alternatives, including OpenSource and commercially available Wiki products. This could pose a serious threat to the long-term viability of SharePoint, given its heavy reliance on Microsoft Office.

Filed under: Enterprise Web