Episode 132. Victory or loss is decided before the fight.
Corey, a development executive who has been working with Bill for many years, gave a new expression of emotion.
“Five! You will see the eyes that we showed 25 years ago when we were a hole-in-the-wall software company!”
An executive who has just been promoted this year asked.
“How was Mr. Arts’ eyes at that time?”
“Well. If I had to put it into words, should I say that it shone so intensely that it was about to destroy everything that stood in the way? Anyway, I want to thank Damoye for making D-Tab. Because I woke up a sleeping lion properly.”
Bill waved his hand with a humble face.
“Corey, let’s not talk about the past because we’re shy. Why are you suddenly acting like an old man?”
“haha. You’re right, I’m an old man. So it’s only natural to talk about the past. Anyway, keep doing what you said earlier.”
Bill shook his head as if he couldn’t stop him, and then made a serious expression.
“From now on, our company will enter an emergency management system. The goal is to develop an OS for the drill CPU, called D Window, within 8 months. Unlike the Onetel CPU, it is a CPU that operates in a RISC method, so the existing Windows cannot be used, so the design will have to be redone.”
an executive asked.
“By the way, D-Tab will come out with EasyOS installed anyway, so even if we make a D window, I don’t think it will be used. How do you plan to sell D-window?”
“The D-Tab is, to be precise, just one of those tablet PCs. In the future, tablet PCs from other PC manufacturers other than D-Tab will be pouring in. Most of them will use a drill CPU with low power consumption and high speed. D-Tab, we have no choice but to use EasyOS, but there are many companies that do not have their own OS, so those companies will be our D-Windows customers. In addition, desktop PC makers are increasingly increasing the proportion of drill CPUs. They are also our potential customers.”
“Oh, I understand what you mean. But wouldn’t 8 months be a bit unreasonable? As you know, it takes less than a year to build a proper OS.”
“If we do it like we usually do, it will. But this time it will be different. We will do everything we can to achieve that goal. And that includes a plan to move all of our staff to developing the OS for drilling, with the exception of the customer service team, which handles requests from consumers.”
This time another officer asked.
“If you say all staff, do you include new project personnel?”
“yes. Development of new programs will be suspended for the time being. If the sales momentum of the Drill CPU does not turn down like this, it may have to be made as a program for Windows D rather than for Windows.”
The executive nodded his head in understanding.
“And of the applications that are currently available for Windows that people use a lot, ask the developer to make a version for Windows D as well. So, please prepare to release applications at the same time as D-Windows is released.”
Because there have already been over 500,000 programs for Easy OS created by software developers all over the world.
It was a necessary measure to have the minimum resistance.
“..I understand why you said that, but the developers may not cooperate. There is no guarantee that D-windows will sell a lot.”
“If you don’t cooperate, you have to make it happen.”
“..Do you have any ideas in mind?”
Bill grinned.
“It’s simple. Say that we support all development costs of the D-Windows program.”
The executive asked surprised.
“Is it all? It will cost more than a billion dollars.”
“yes. In a way, we are now latecomers. That kind of bleeding has to be endured.”
“..Mr. Arts is taking this situation very seriously.”
“That’s right. Now, sales have fallen by 20%, but I have a strong feeling that it will be 40% or 50% if left unattended. So, all executives, keep in mind that our company’s life and death depend on the successful launch of D-Window, and please do your best to complete all of this within 8 months. I will actively support you.”
The executives responded together.
“All right! Mr Arts. No matter what happens, I will make it happen.”
After the executive meeting, only the founding members Bill and Corey remained.
Cory asked with a small smile.
“You said you were going to retire soon, but looking at it today, there doesn’t seem to be any sign of that.”
“I was originally planning to retire next month. I have already appointed a successor, but someone will appear who sets my heart on fire. After all, this floor is a really fun place.”
“Have you decided on a successor? Who?”
“Jeremo.”
Cory frowned at those words.
“..why are you jeremo?”
“haha. Don’t you like it?”
“..yes. He’s excellent, but he’s a complete model student, so his determination is weak. If Jeremo had been sitting in the CEO position in a crisis like this, he probably would not have made the same judgment as Mr. Arts.”
“In a crisis situation, it can be. However, crises like this do not come often, and our company, MS, has already grown too large. Defending is more important than attacking. And Jeremo is less decisive, but makes fewer mistakes instead. He’s a very good defensive player.”
“yes. And don’t worry too much. It’s not voluntary, but I don’t think I will be able to retire for a while.”
Cory’s face brightened at those words.
“It’s nice to hear that. haha.”
Bill was stunned at his reaction.
“Corey, don’t you like someone else’s retirement too much?”
“I’m sorry, but Bill is most suited to being CEO. Bill, sitting at home at 10 a.m. and holding a cup of coffee… Oh my God, the thought of it is disgusting.”
“Does that Cory think that day will never come? There is no business in time.”
“I would never do that. Even if I die, I will die at work.”
“haha. Let’s see.”
#I became the largest shareholder with a total of 65.7% by increasing my holdings of Hungle and computers to obtain an additional 35.7%.
I could have secured more, but as I continued to purchase stocks to increase my stake, the stock price soared, so I decided to stop acquiring my stake for the time being.
Hungle and Computer Headquarters.
I asked Hungle and Gongjin Yu, the computer’s president.
“President Yoo, how is the development of spreadsheets and presentation software for Easy OS?”
Spreadsheet.
It was an essential software for managing numerical data.
The most famous spreadsheet is Excel developed by Microsoft.
In the meantime, many companies have challenged Excel’s dominance.
Excel’s dominance was so strong that he was defeated with only a big wound.
However, this Excel had one weakness.
That is, it can only be used on Windows operating systems.
In a situation where Windows occupied more than 95% of the world’s computers, as in the past, it could not be called a weakness.
However, thanks to the fast-selling D-tab, it could be a pretty big weakness at this time, when the operating system, Easy, is eating away at Windows’ market share.
“E-point, which can replace Microsoft’s PowerPoint, has been developed. However, it seems that Spreadsheet E-Cell will take at least three more months to be released.”
“It’s been over a year since development started, but it’s still not finished?”
“yes. The program itself will be completed in a month, but the debugging process to check whether there are any problems is expected to take another two months.”
I pondered for a while whether it was okay or not, then shook my head.
“Even if you think about it, it’s too late. Please pull it in half.”
President Yoo replied with a puzzled face.
“Even now, many employees are working overtime. I would like to be able to push the schedule further, but it is difficult in reality beyond this.”
I opened my mouth while looking at President Yoo’s face.
“This is not a matter of being or not. You must do it. Right now, Microsoft is also slowly feeling the threat to EasyOS. What are they thinking now?”
“Since D-Tab is selling so well, I think I’m thinking about whether to develop office programs like Word or Excel for Easy OS.”
“..then?”
“The biggest source of income for Microsoft is the operating system. Of course, at Microsoft, taking Windows share is the number one priority. Easy OS is eating away at market share, so you’re probably thinking about whether you should start developing an OS for the drill CPU. And sooner or later, development will begin. After about a year or so, we will finish developing the OS and launch it on the market right away.”
“Um… I don’t understand. With that in mind, why did you tell me to develop a spreadsheet for Easy OS? If MS decides to make it, a good OS will come out, but if that happens, the market share of Easy OS may drop considerably.”
“It won’t be, so I told the boss to make it. The reason there is no competing OS to compare to Windows today is not because of its superior performance. Windows has a high share. No matter how good a competing OS comes out, it cannot beat Windows if the hardware is the same. People are already accustomed to Windows, and Windows will be overwhelming for applications.”
“Oh, I see.”
“But when it comes to the tablet PC market, it’s the other way around. People are getting used to the easy OS. And by the time MS has finished developing the OS for the Drill CPU, there will be more than a million programs for our Easy OS. In the end, Microsoft will lose the same way it used it. And only then will he realize that he has made a mistake and start making programs for the Easy OS.”
CEO Bill Arts, who has brought Microsoft to this point, is a very good person.
As long as I had the idea that the operating system had priority, I had a good chance of winning.
Moreover, as I recall, Bill, who raised Microsoft to this point, will soon retire, and the CEO will soon be replaced by Jeremo.
The next CEO, Jeremo, is prudent to say the least.
To put it bluntly, he’s indecisive, so he’s the type of person who doesn’t use much energy in a battle where time is important.
It was easier to deal with than Bill.
President Yu nodded his head.
“According to the Sun Tzu Military Law, the victory or defeat of a war is already decided before the fight. The outcome of a fight depends on how well prepared you are. The same goes for word processing and spreadsheet competition. This is the only opportunity to properly prepare for it now that MS is lying on its back. That preparation is not making a good program. We need to make it quick so people get used to our program at least a day early. A difference of a month or two might decide whether to allow or block Microsoft’s entry.”
“You are saying that the release date is more important than the degree of development completion.”
“That’s right. But that doesn’t mean we can’t come up with a program that’s too weak, so please increase the number of people to meet the minimum quality.”
“All right. As you said, we will prepare to release it within a month and a half.”
#Damoye Center, meeting room of Nyworld division.
Team leader Lee Woong-gi was reporting on the status of Nystar.
“Launched at the end of October last year, the number of users of Nystar reached 1 million in Korea and 2.5 million in the United States in about 5 months. If this trend continues, by the end of this year, we expect to reach 4 million in Korea and 9 million in the US.”
“It’s good. Do you think this is faster than when Nyworld was first launched?”
