Today we heard from Muhammed Yunis who was in  2006 awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. His mission was to reinvent, in his home country of Bangldesh, the banking system and in turn help the poorest in society. His story was that people who have nothing will achieve incredible things with not very much and as such the concept of micro financing was born. They specialised in giving loans  to poor women and for as little as $35. For these people this was an unimaginable amount of money and as such would do whatever they could to make the best of the loan that was awarded.

The results have been truly amazing.

The recent decision by Bill Gates to dedicate his time to his charitable foundation and the impact that his personal wealth will have on the projects he supports will have a significant impact on those it affects.

I know that many of us, either personally or through our companies, donate and when you see tangible results and the difference that individuals can make it is very humbling.

Following this we heard from Kevin Turner who is Microsoft’s COO and you get the impression that humility is not high on his list of personal qualities.

For those who don’t know the background, Kevin was previously at Walmart and was one of Microsoft’s best customers, so therefore he can in someway appreciate the customers' perspective.

It is no secret that Google especially are on the radar and the competition seems to be a challenge to be relished by the senior executive team. This said many boxers have entered a ring with relish only to be knocked out sometime later in the fight but Microsoft aren’t used to second place but you must pick your fights carefully. Time will tell if this is the right time for them to do so.

A few stats that may show how Microsoft is committed to continuous innovation. The research and development budget for  this year exceeds $7 billion, far and above any of its competitors. They also sponsor an event called The Imagine Cup where 200,000 students from 200 countries present their technology ideas to industry leaders. They are also engaging in an initiative called Dreamspark which gives away the development platform to students. Is this protecting self interest? Absolutely, but at the conference you get the impression that the belief that Microsoft can change the world for the better is a real one.

Summary

The integration of Microsoft products and their constant innovation means that if you were to bet on a horse then they would probably start as favourites for most things that most businesses are trying to do.

However the choice that customers have at this time is wider than it has ever been and as such careful product selection will be a critical success factor for the long term success of many projects.

I hope that these postings have been useful to you, but the end of conference party is about to start and I hope you’ll forgive a little R&R

Thanks for your interest and ongoing support.