Chapter 41 Gates' seamless docking dream runs aground

Ma Huateng's opponent Gates this time is by no means an idler.Gates became the youngest billionaire in the world at the age of 36. In 2004, in the annual list of the world's richest people published by "Forbes" in the United States, Gates was once again elected as the world's richest man.Gates is one of the important inventors of computer operating systems. He made personal computers into thousands of households; his entrepreneurial experience is very legendary, he dropped out of school to work, and started from scratch. Microsoft, founded by Gates, is the largest in the industry in the world.Its "Windows" (Windows) system has a market share of over 96%.In other aspects, Microsoft's Pocket PC system, MSN network, XBOX game consoles, etc. also aggressively conquered the city and seized the market share of other large companies.Microsoft is a powerful company in the global market, and its foundation is evergreen, but in China's instant messaging market, it has experienced ups and downs.

Since it settled in Beijing in 1992, Microsoft has had a harder time in China than other multinational companies. The most striking thing about Microsoft in China is not poor performance, but frequent changes in management.During this period, I experienced Tian Benhe, Du Jiabin, Wu Shihong, Gao Qunyao and Tang Jun. Liu Ren, a famous IT observer, once talked about Microsoft’s plight in China when Tang Jun took over as the president of Microsoft (China) in an article titled “On Microsoft’s Wounds”: “Microsoft is very hurt in China. The contribution is no less than that of IBM. IBM has earned both money and reputation in China. Compared with IBM, Microsoft has neither made money nor reputation and basic respect in China. We use Microsoft software for free while hating it What’s wrong with Microsoft?” Liu Ren also recorded his impressions of his predecessors in Microsoft (China): On February 10, 1998, I interviewed Du Jiabin, the first president of Microsoft (China), in the Kaiyuan office building in Zhongguancun. In March 1994, Du Jiabin jumped from Hewlett-Packard to Microsoft, taking over from Tian Benhe, the chief representative who established Microsoft's Beijing office in 1992. In October 1998, Du Jiabin left Microsoft to join Cisco.The reason for Du Jiabin's resignation was that Microsoft asked him to jointly govern with Wu Shihong, general manager of China.According to reports, at the last meeting hosted by Du Jiabin, the employees sitting in the first row found that Du Jiabin, who was old in the world, actually shed tears... 15 months later, Wu Shihong "flying against the wind" went to TCL, and Gao Qunyao took over.Gao Qunyao had worked at Autodesk for 5 years before, suing dozens of pirate users in China, and has rich experience in combating piracy.According to Tang Jun: "Gao Qunyao's resignation was not because of performance, nor because he failed to win the government procurement bid." "Maybe because he was too tired and didn't want to be so tired."

In March 2002, Tang Jun, general manager of Microsoft Global Technical Support Center, who had nearly ten years of working experience in Microsoft, began to concurrently serve as president of Microsoft China.Tang Jun is a very strong and astute person, he really wants to leave a good impression on the media, he will answer any questions from the media positively, and try his best to fully answer. Counting from 1992, when Microsoft settled in China, until Tang Jun took office, several presidents of Microsoft China have been committed to changing the fact that Microsoft's poor performance in China.As for MSN (Microsoft Service Network Microsoft Network Services), it seems to be just a gadget. MSN was released simultaneously when Microsoft released Windows95 on August 24, 1995. The advantage of MSN lies in its integration with the Windows operating system. More than 95% of computer users in China install Microsoft's operating system, so MSN bundled with the Windows system has inherent advantages.

As for when Bill Gates felt that instant messaging has a big market in China, it is a difficult question to investigate. Maybe it started when he sent the letter to Ma Huateng, but the time for sending the letter is no longer available. Check, maybe in 2001.Microsoft's emphasis on MSN, the official information that can be found is that in April 2002, Luo Chuan, who had worked at Microsoft for more than ten years and was in charge of Microsoft China's strategic research and investment projects, was appointed as the Microsoft China MSN Division Director, responsible for the expansion plan of MSN business in China.There was only one month between Tang Jun's appointment and Luo Chuan's appointment. The secret war between MSN and QQ started.

Before Luo Chuan took office, in January 2000, MSN launched a version spanning 6 countries and regions in Asia - South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia and India - making MSN reach 33 markets and 17 countries. language version, becoming a worldwide portal that no online portal can surpass. In October 2001, Microsoft spent US$500 million on R&D and US$300 million on marketing to launch MSN, which was simultaneously listed in the United States and Canada.At the same time, Microsoft launched the mainland version of MSN Explorer software and the Chinese version of the MSN portal site—china.msn.com, and began to penetrate the Chinese Internet.This website is hosted in the United States and mainly provides technical content, focusing on Microsoft's product information. At this time, there is no sign of its competition with QQ.

On October 24, 2002, Bill Gates appeared in Central Park, New York, and participated in the launching ceremony of MSN8 in the United States and Canada. Conjecture on the pace of promotion in China.However, Microsoft said that because there are still some policy issues that have not been resolved for the time being, and the version changes brought about by cultural differences also need to be reconsidered, so it will take some time for MSN to enter China. Microsoft hopes to have more partners to come together Finish this job.It can be seen that partners became the focus of Microsoft MSN's landing in China at that time.Luo Chuan, Director of MSN Division of Microsoft China, said: "Microsoft very much hopes to develop MSN business in China. Currently MSN has not officially landed in China, but has already discussed strategic cooperation with some potential partners. The scope of cooperation includes content, services, etc. aspect."

Just when Bill Gates realized that instant messaging is a big lunch in China, Ma Huateng was not idle. "China Business Review" pointed out: As an industry leader, what Tencent is most afraid of is a company that suddenly emerges and is defeated by an unexpected business model or competitive strategy.In order to maintain a leading edge, Ma Huateng must always pay attention to every move of Microsoft MSN, consider the innovation direction of the industry, and guide the development of the entire industry. Ma Huateng thinks: Compared with MSN, QQ's user group positioning is more focused on Chinese localized young users. This type of group has a characteristic and is willing to make friends with some strange users.However, MSN and E-mail are closely integrated, and the needs of this type of users are to communicate with acquaintances.When Ma Huateng identified Microsoft MSN as Tencent's biggest competitor, we don't know, but judging from Tencent's strategic actions, Ma Huateng has indeed made appropriate preparations for the overall challenge of Microsoft MSN.

As early as 2000, Tencent launched QQ for enterprises——BQQ (Business QQ), which improved the efficiency of enterprise information exchange, especially internal information exchange, and promoted enterprises to become real-time digital information exchange entities.According to Ma Huateng, more than half of the Shenzhen Vanke Company, from President Wang Shi to ordinary employees, are using QQ, and all of them have activated the mobile QQ function.The company mostly uses mobile QQ to communicate with employees who go out to work.When Wang Shi went to Australia to film a Motorola commercial in 2000, mobile QQ became a hotline between Australia and the Shenzhen headquarters. Once BQQ was launched, Vanke installed BQQ in the company. The identities of all employees are designated by the server network administrator. The organizational structure of the entire company and the identities of colleagues are clear at a glance. The emergence of BQQ has really revolutionized the office.In addition to Shenzhen Vanke, many enterprises and institutions have also introduced QQ into daily office work.For example, Haier, Beijing Jinshan, Guangdong Provincial Communications Department, etc. will use QQ to enhance communication between employees at the upper and lower levels of the enterprise, and between the enterprise and customers.

In the following two or three years, although Tencent continued to maintain its leading position in the instant messaging market, Microsoft MSN continued to divide QQ users, especially white-collar workers, with its simple interface and advantages such as no advertisement harassment. Fewer QQ users are gradually shifting to MSN.Ma Huateng made a judgment: "Sooner or later, the two sides will start a full-scale competition in the field of instant messaging", and QQ will expand from localization and youth. In November 2003, on the basis of 6 version upgrades of BQQ, Tencent launched an upgraded version with significantly enhanced stability and functions. , Jinshan and many other well-known software providers, in order to emphasize the difference between it and QQ, it was changed to RTX (Real Time eXchange), and the Chinese name is Tencent Tong.Enterprise employees can easily find people who need to communicate through the organizational structure configured by the server, and use rich communication methods to communicate in real time.Text messages, file transfers, direct voice conversations, and video can meet communication needs in different office environments.This marks Tencent's entry into the enterprise market, becoming the first enterprise instant messaging service provider in China.

On December 15 of the same year, Tencent TM (Tencent Messenger) was released to the public for instant communication with acquaintances in the office environment. This is a product clearly aimed at MSN.Prior to this, QQ was aimed at the youth market, BQQ and RTX were aimed at the enterprise market, and TM was mainly aimed at individuals in the business office environment, which is consistent with MSN's user orientation, and its style is quite similar.From this perspective, it was Tencent who first challenged Microsoft MSN.Of course, it can also be considered that this is a pre-emptive strategic action made by Tencent after judging that "MSN will inevitably challenge in an all-round way".

Tencent's frequent big moves seem to tell the industry that Ma Huateng's state seems to be fully armed and ready for battle. But Microsoft seems to have been very low-key, but the apparent inaction makes it impossible to make a reasonable explanation for the establishment of Microsoft China China.msn.com in 2001.With reference to the precedents of AOL Time Warner and Yahoo's landing in China, it seems easier to see MSN's firm determination to enter the Chinese market. Huang Cunyi, director of Microsoft Greater China, said in an interview: "We are still paying attention to their direction of action. We are observing." It is said that on the desk of the general manager of Microsoft China at that time, there were still several plans for MSN to enter China.Regarding the news that MSN officially entered China, Ma Huateng responded: "It is a good thing to have pressure. We will avoid its edge and will not fight head-on with it." As for how MSN entered China specifically, Microsoft has always been tight-lipped.However, the various entanglements between the media and Microsoft have been speculated for a long time. As Ma Huateng said, "sooner or later, the two sides will start a full-scale competition in the field of instant messaging." The "wolf is coming" story has been staged in China's instant messaging market for three years, and the "wolf" has really come.