This one will be short.
I think the best strategy Microsoft could take as a business move is to port MS Office 2007 for Linux and Mac. I believe that if MS Office 07 was available on any software platform, demand would rise exponentially for it. Nothing else compares to the 2007 suite - I have used OpenOffice.org multiple times in Ubuntu, but I still have to side with Office. It is has a smooth interface, ease-of-use, inter-compatibility with the other Office products and SharePoint, and so much more. If Office became the number 1 suite to use across all platforms, I do believe that it would knock competition out of the game. I am by no means a Microsoft fan - I just like what works well. I am willing to pay extra money for a better office product that will have many more features. Plus, still nothing can compare to MS Outlook 2007 for Exchange, POP, IMAP, or any other form of email use. It just works, and it works excellently with every other 2007 product - MS Infopath, Access, OneNote, Word, PowerPoint and Excel.
I think it would be wise for Microsoft to branch MS Office 2007 out of strictly Windows. Office is far better than Windows anyway. I am also writing this blog in Windows, though.
Microsoft Office is the one thing that is holding many users from being able to switch to Linux. Linux should no longer be a competition to MS, but more revenue with the Office system.
