Selling enterprise software with channel partners requires Microsoft to create a separate department just for training, coordination of pricing and product requests, and also define entirely new delivery platforms for the applications as well. The Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platform has been legitimized by Salesforce.com. Microsoft is reinventing itself to in this area so they can better sell with resellers and partners, and also better capitalize on the growing popularity of the SaaS platform as a delivery option for their software. The catalyst of these major shifts in strategy is a direct result of the global recession drastically slowing down the sales of enterprise software.

Open Source Competition

By far the most strategic threat to Microsoft is open source software. There are many business models that open source software vendors use and rely on, with the most prevalent being the requirement of a one-time price to purchase the application and optional yearly...
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