Microsoft is a remarkable company with a varied history. In many market niches, it seemingly starts slow but then builds something that is attractive enough to leave the competitors behind.

For example, the initial versions of Windows were fairly mundane but the later versions became commonplace on 90% of all desktops. Another example, when Excel was launched another application called VisiCalc was the superior product. But over time Excel, Powerpoint, Outlook and Word became the standard applications for home and business users.

In 2008, the company is at crossroads in several markets. Microsoft is trying to surpass Google in both the online search and advertising sectors. However, Windows Live Search is nowhere near as successful. Live simply doesn’t offer anything attractive enough for Google users to make the switch.

When it comes to digital music, Zune initially was laughed at for being badly designed but now is a slick and formidable competitor to the iPod.

As far as windows Vista, there is no doubt that it has many important faults. However, Windows already is a market leader when it comes to the desktop operating system. The current issue is that Apple is growing its market share from 7 to 10% and the next Windows operating system, Windows 7, needs to accomplish the many promises that Vista was supposed to.

The next 3 years will likely be the most important for Microsoft and they will determine whether the company can sustain its leadership for the next decade.