In its Vision Statement, Red Hat says “To extend our position as the most trusted Linux and open source provider to the enterprise.” (Thompson et al, 2010). It is believed that today Red Hat leads the Linux market with more than 75% share of the worldwide Linux Subscriptions (www.redhat.com) . When you remember that Linux products are close rivals and potential substitutes for Microsoft suite of software and operating system, then this is by no means small feat. So who are these giant rivals and what business models have they pursued to gain such a huge dominance of the market segment in which they operate?.
Red Hat debuted sometime in 1991 although the software would be officially introduced to the market in 1994. By contrast, the history of Microsoft and Windows date back to 1981 (about ten years apart). Microsoft size, performance and lead in the market should normally make it difficult for any serious competitor to enter the market however small the size of the market such competitor is hoping to garner. On the other hand, it should be possible to engage the giant by learning how it does its things and capitalising on its weaknesses to sway their customer loyalty. But Microsoft indeed has a clear and focused strategy. A firm’s strategy is not crafted overnight and if left static will endanger it in the face of a gobal changing business environment, confrontation from a more proactive and visionary company with better and dynamic strategies (Thompson et all, 2010). For Microsoft to continue to maintain its dominance of the PC market, there is no doubt that it found the right strategy which has been refined and remodelled over the years but more importantly that these have been executed in a way that continues to bring value to the stakeholders, consumers and employees. If Microsoft set out with the intent to create a company that will be difficult or impossible to copy, imitate let alone compete with, then it seems that it has succeeded in that onerous...