Why is Microsoft afraid to use the 'L' word?
In discussing the motivation behind its newly launched Windows Server 2008 Foudation product, there's one word the folks from Microsoft were loath to mention: Linux.
Microsoft officials are attributing the decision to launch on April 1 the stripped-down Windows Server Foundation SKU on economic pressures on IT budgets. They're also citing the growing interest by customers and partners in lower-price, simplified, netbook-like configurations not just on the client-side, but on the server-one as well.
I asked Microsoft whether the Foundation Server SKU was aimed at low-end servers running Linux. The Sofites downplayed that idea, claiming that while a new Foundation Server offering might compete with Red Hat on Dell, for example, it would compete equally with the do-it-yourself folks building their own Windows servers.
In a Windows Server "Partner Battlecard" that I saw courtesy of one of my sources, Microsoft also barely mentions Linux when suggesting ways their channel partners should go to market with the new Foundation Server.
The sales "cheat sheet" does acknowledge, via a single-line mention, that " Windows Server Foundation is an alternative to running open source (Linux) software." But the primary marketing messages that Microsoft is emphasizing with its new Server product aren't Linux-focused at all, if the Battlecard is any kind of guide. Instead, Microsoft is suggesting partners emphasize that Foundation Server will be easy on IT budgets; help optimize the Web for your business; and provide "peace of mind" for those concerned about the ramifications of running pirated Windows.
It took Microsoft years to finally start calling out its No. 1 competitor to Windows client -- Apple -- by name. (Only recently is Microsoft starting to use its pricing advantage over Apple to sell.) Is the Server team going to fall into the same rut, claiming that any mention of a competitor is worse than pretending they don't exist?
What's your take: Is Microsoft right in refusing to use the 'L' word when talking to customers about what's going on with their IT spending?