New Delhi:
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella admitted that one of his biggest mistakes was not to predict the dominance of searching, a market where Google successfully capitalized.
He said that Microsoft had initially assumed that the web would remain decentralized, not realizing that search query would be the most valuable business model.
He called it a valuable lesson and said: “We (Microsoft) missed what turned out to be the largest business model on the internet, because we all assumed that the web is running to be distributed.”
In a conversation with YouTuber Dwarkesh Patel, Mr Nadella thought about how Microsoft incorrectly calculated the importance of searching, while Google potentially identified his potentially and had his strategy fell flawlessly.
“Who would have thought that search would be the biggest winner when organizing the internet?” Said Nadella.
“We clearly did not see it, and Google saw it and performed it super well. Understanding a technological shift is not enough; companies must also acknowledge where making value will happen,” he said.
He noted that adapting to changes in business models is often more challenging than keeping technological progress.
“These business model shifts are probably more difficult than even the technical trend changes,” said Microsoft CEO.
Mr Nadella remembered that it was part of various important technological transformations during his career with the shift from mainframes to personal computers, followed by the rise of the architecture of the customer server.
He also discussed the rise of the web and remembered how the launch of the mosaic and Netscape -Browsers forced Microsoft to adapt.
He said that the company managed to adapt well to the browser's era, because it introduced a new way to build applications.
Nadella became a member of Microsoft in 1992 after working at Sun MicroSystems, witnessed several innovation waves.
He obtained a diploma in electrical engineering at Mangalore University, a master's degree in computer science from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and an MBA from the University of Chicago.
(Except for the headline, this story was not edited by DailyExpertNews staff and has been published from a syndicated feed.)
