11.01.09
Microsoft Office Accounting Goes Bankrupt
Summary: Microsoft decides to end Office Accounting; pace of product cancellation seems to have increased
THE list of Microsoft’s dead products carries on growing, even though we have had this latest addition in there for weeks (just not confirmed). The latest product to officially get the axe is part of the big cash cow, Microsoft Office. “Another one bites the dust,” says our reader. “Having run out of money, Microsoft loses the rest of its accountability,” he said with a clever punch line. Yes, Office Accounting is to die.
Microsoft quietly announced Friday that it plans to kill off its Office Accounting products, beginning Nov. 16.
From Ars Technica:
Microsoft is killing off its whole Office Accounting product line on November 16, 2009.
The US- and UK-based press outlets are all over this, not to mention many Microsoft blogs. There is not much more to be said (we knew about this for weeks and only now it’s truly confirmed), but taken in light of Microsoft's sharp profit drop, this won’t be the last Microsoft product to die. Another Microsoft product, MSN Direct, was pronounced dead just a few days ago. █
Dennis Murczak said,
November 1, 2009 at 3:00 pm
Are there any estimates on MS’ remaining liquid funds? I know they lost half of their cash within one year before the economy crisis, then their leadership started stock buybacks and the company went into debt, then the crisis hit them. Quite possibly they are ditching all these products at a rapid pace because they lose them money they simply don’t have anymore.
Roy Schestowitz Reply:
November 1st, 2009 at 3:16 pm
That’s an interesting question because I have found not a single update on the cash reserves/debt offerings in months. There used to be a lot of articles about that.
Either way, IBM has just begun another massive round of buybacks.