Who would still start a business seriously after being reborn?

Chapter 481 Trying to Touch Microsoft in Troubled Waters

Momo Group was already in the eye of the storm during this period, and Cheng Yi's speech brought the already heated discussion to another climax.

On one side is a top domestic software group.

On one side are rising IT stars in China.

These are all sources of pride for China.

If these two companies were to unite against Microsoft, the mere thought of it would excite many patriots.

Under the direction of certain individuals, related reports fell like snowflakes.

On the Integrity of Jinshan, the "IT Whampoa Military Academy"

Jinshan - The Tough Guy Who Silently Protects Momo Group

"Protecting Domestic Operating Systems is Everyone's Responsibility: On Chairman Jinshan's Vision"

The numerous posts praising and adoring Jinshan made her quite popular.

Open any newspaper or magazine, and you'll find reports about Momo's declaration of war against Microsoft.

"President Cheng, how's our reporting going?" In the president's office of Momo Group, several newspaper editors were having tea with Cheng Yi.

"It's a bit too deliberate, that's not good. It's best to be more low-key and then show your abilities in a low-key way." Cheng Yi said with some dissatisfaction, "But overall it's okay. You guys need to work on the next report more and try to make it even more perfect."

“No problem.” Several newspaper editors smiled as they drank tea.

As long as you pay, it can be as perfect as you want it to be.

"Did you say this?" In the president's office of Jinshan, Chairman Qiu Bojun stood in front of Lei Jun, holding a newspaper and asked.

Lei Jun had already read the contents of the newspaper. He was originally planning to submit a letter of self-criticism to the chairman, but unexpectedly Qiu Bojun came to his door.

Lei Jun stood up and said with a look of shame, "Chairman, I did give Cheng Yi some advice, but that was only to get closer to him and to secure greater benefits for our cooperation with Momo Group. I didn't expect him to say such a thing at the press conference."

Chen Rui, who was standing nearby, said, "Chairman Qiu, Mr. Lei, how about we issue a statement to clarify things?"

"Clarify? Clarify what?" Qiu Bojun frowned and said, "The national media are praising us like crazy right now, and you want to clarify things now?"

Lei Jun also said, "A clarification is definitely not an option. Cheng Yi has already put us in a difficult position. If we issue a clarification announcement, we will definitely become public enemies nationwide."

Lei Jun looked at Qiu Bojun and said, "Chairman, I suggest we make the best of a bad situation. How did Microsoft bully us back then? They practically killed WPS. Since Momo Group has taken the lead, let's have a fight!"

"Let Microsoft know that we don't cause trouble, but we're not afraid of trouble either!" A sharp, fierce glint appeared in Lei Jun's eyes.

Qiu Bojun hesitated.

Back in the 80s, their WPS held 90% of the domestic word processing market, with a net profit of 6500 million yuan a year—that was 6500 million yuan in 1989!

WPS has become a standard feature of the 386.

In 1996, Microsoft approached them aggressively, hoping to make WPS compatible with Office.

Jinshan also understood that Microsoft's purpose in doing this was simply to fully integrate into the Chinese market and, incidentally, steal customers from them.

But the operating systems belong to other people, do they have the right to say no?
No.

In the end, Violet Mountain bowed its head. They knew very well that without cooperating with Microsoft, they would have an even harder time surviving.

After Microsoft absorbed the market share of WPS, it launched Windows 97 and bundled Office software with the system.

This left WPS completely stunned. Others had system support, while its own software lacked any other competitive advantages.

Ultimately, Office quickly seized the Chinese market, and WPS's sales declined, to the point that Jinshan was unable to survive, and programmers left one by one, leaving only a dozen or so people.

To completely kill Violet Hill, Microsoft then took another drastic step: just like with operating systems, Microsoft began to tolerate the piracy of Office software in China.

Although this does absolutely no good for legitimate software, Microsoft doesn't think so.

It knew that WPS had always been a potential competitor, and while piracy would indeed cause them to lose some users, it could completely block WPS's escape route.

With free pirated software available, who would want to use the paid, legitimate version of WPS?

At the same time, Microsoft directly tore up the compatibility agreement signed with WPS, forcing users to choose between the two.

This move completely wiped out WPS.

In an effort to revive WPS, Lei Jun led his team to develop products like Dictionary, Antivirus, games, and even Joyo.com. They continuously entered various fields that offered quick profits, using these revenues to support the struggling WPS team.

Now, their antivirus software dominates the domestic market, and the monthly profits of their "Swordsman Online" game even exceed those of their antivirus software.

The pain he endured along the way made Lei Jun understand what it means to be vulnerable to attack if you fall behind, and he wanted to take another step forward more than anyone else.

Even if it means resorting to any means necessary.

Seeing that Qiu Bojun was still hesitant, Lei Jun said, "Chairman, we can't back out now. When Microsoft Office entered the domestic market, we also thought about backing out, but what did we get in the end?"

Qiu Bojun is a typical programmer who doesn't like to argue. Seeing Lei Jun's insistence, Qiu Bojun put down the newspaper and said, "Contact Lianxiang and see what they say."

“Okay.” Lei Jun nodded and said, “I’ll contact Yang Yuanqing now.”

"Hmm." Qiu Bojun sighed and said, "I'll leave the rest to you. You can handle it."

Qiu Bojun had little hope for this battle; he had lost before and knew what defeat tasted like.

In 1998, if it weren't for Lianxiang Group's investment of 7200 million yuan to save them, Jinshan would have disappeared into the annals of time.

With antivirus software and games thriving now, why bother challenging an opponent that can't be defeated?

It's all that guy Cheng Yi's fault, he's a real scoundrel.

"Boss, Microsoft hasn't responded to us yet." On the top floor of the Momo Technology Building, Du Yusheng served Cheng Yi tea as he spoke. "We've made such a big fuss about this, why hasn't Microsoft even responded? Didn't the media say that with our current scale, Microsoft would definitely get involved in dealing with us?"

“They’re currently embroiled in disputes with IBM and Intel, so even if they wanted to deal with us, they’d have to spare some time,” Cheng Yi laughed. “Even if we’re not doing well, we’re still a multi-billion dollar corporation. Even if Microsoft is a trillion-dollar corporation, they’d have to bleed a lot of money to deal with us.”

"Huh? So that means Microsoft doesn't have time to deal with us right now?" Du Yusheng asked in surprise.

"You could say that," Cheng Yi nodded.

Du Yusheng said, "Then why did we deliberately create this situation? Isn't this just forcing Microsoft to attack us?"

Cheng Yi took a sip of tea and said, "It's only a matter of time before Microsoft attacks us; there's no way to avoid it. So this time, we need to take the initiative." "Huh?" Du Yusheng was completely baffled by Cheng Yi's intentions.

Their Momo Group is quite strong, but if they were to go head-to-head with Microsoft, wouldn't that be like a mantis trying to stop a chariot?

Cheng Yi said, "In the eyes of outsiders, we belong to IBM's camp, so the safest thing for us to do now is to declare war on Microsoft and relieve some pressure on IBM. Who knows, if IBM is happy, they might even give us a few patents to play with."

"Boss, are you planning to use the siege of Wei to rescue Zhao?" Du Yusheng suddenly realized.

Cheng Yi laughed and said, "No, we're like besieging Wei but not being able to save Zhao. We're just a spoiler. Now, Lianxiang Group belongs to the IBM camp, and Lianxiang Group is also the major shareholder of Jinshan. We're leading Jinshan to declare war on Microsoft. Do you think Lianxiang Group would have the nerve to stand by and watch? They're IBM's 24/7 partner. Even we, their underlings, are joining the fight against Microsoft. What do you think Lianxiang Group will do?"

Du Yusheng smacked his lips, feeling like his brain wasn't working properly.

“Fatty, remember this: you’re different from others. Don’t waste your energy thinking about these things. You just need to do the logistical work.” Cheng Yi patted Du Yusheng on the shoulder and said, “Now that Enze Capital is issuing the specific industrial plans for Microsoft, you’ll be in charge of the overall coordination.”

"Don't worry, boss," Du Yusheng assured him confidently.

In the afternoon, Enze Capital sent over the specific revenue data for Microsoft.

Although Microsoft's operating system is unparalleled in the world, it does not bring Microsoft much profit.

Microsoft's largest revenue comes from patent licensing, software and hardware revenue sharing, and bundled software.

In addition, there is the Internet Explorer browser, the Office software, the MSN chat tool, and the eShop shopping website.

Regarding patents, IBM is holding us back.

In terms of both hardware and software, Intel is pulling the strings.

In the browser field, Google will definitely take advantage of the situation.

The remaining options are office software and chat tools.

We must let QQ and WPS take the lead. Even if they do fall, they will become a peak or a ridge.

At the very least, Microsoft's chat tools and office software must be banned from the domestic market, and then the entire Asian market.

If this battle really hurts Microsoft, they'll be quiet for at least a year and a half.

Since the Microsoft antitrust case verdict in 2001, Microsoft has not been in its complete form, so the chances of winning this battle are still very high.

Even if they unfortunately lose, it won't have a significant impact on Momo Group.

After sorting out his thoughts, Cheng Yi called Qian Buqun.

"President Cheng, you're incredibly bold to openly challenge Microsoft." As soon as the call connected, Qian Buqun launched into a long-winded explanation: "You probably haven't seen Microsoft's methods yet. Once they have the time, you'll see how formidable they are."

"So what if they're powerful?" Cheng Yi laughed. "If Microsoft bullies us, we can tolerate it, but they dare to provoke our big brother. Can I let them get away with it?"

"Big Brother?" Qian Buqun was taken aback.

“Isn’t IBM our big brother?” Cheng Yi replied.

"Ah, yes, yes, yes." Qian Buqun clearly didn't expect Cheng Yi to say such a thing.

This Momo Group is really something else. Unlike Huawei, which, despite receiving the same amount of money, is completely unresponsive and doesn't listen to orders or directives, acting like a block of wood.

Cheng Yi said, "I've thought it through. I want to wipe out the Microsoft software market in China and even Asia! Especially their office software and chat software! At all costs!"

"President Cheng, are you sure you've thought this through?" Qian Buqun asked.

"I've thought it through very clearly. If Microsoft attacks IBM today, they'll attack us tomorrow!" Cheng Yi snorted. "Rather than that, we might as well go all out!"

"Great! I'll report your determination to headquarters immediately!" Qian Buqun said excitedly, "If you can wipe out Microsoft's office software market in China, we'll give you a huge credit!"

“I will do my best,” Cheng Yi said hesitantly, “but… as you know, we have four hundred million US dollars in working capital prepared for you. If we go to war with Microsoft, I’m afraid our funds will be strained…”

"I understand. I'll take charge of this matter. Your Momo Group's consulting fee can be paid after the Microsoft battle is over. If you do a good job, a discount on the consulting fee is no problem." Qian Buqun was now eager for Momo Group to join the battle.

This is, after all, a multi-billion dollar corporation; even a small amount is still something.

If Microsoft really loses its market share in China, IBM will be laughing all the way to the bank.

Capital valuation is based on the number of active users. 18% of Microsoft's operating system and office software users come from the Chinese market. If this market is taken away, it will be a huge blow to Microsoft and will definitely indirectly help IBM.

It's impossible to completely defeat a behemoth like Microsoft unless they commit suicide.

But it's still possible to inflict serious damage on them.

As the president of IBM's China region, Qian Buqun was very clear about Microsoft's situation in China.

In 2003 alone, which wasn't even over yet, Microsoft's revenue in China reached a staggering $14 billion.

Because it had no competitors, Microsoft acted even more tyrannically than Xiang Yu, the King of Chu, explicitly including two unfair clauses in their contracts for both government and corporate procurement.

First, the system will never offer discounts.

Secondly, you must buy the software such as Office together with the operating system, otherwise the price of the operating system will increase.

These two unfair terms have remained unchanged since 1996.

The main point is that it's up to you whether you use it or not.

For governments and businesses, this feeling is like eating shit.

After each meal, they would go to great lengths to develop a domestic operating system.

After venting their anger by developing a domestic operating system, they'll grit their teeth and continue eating next year.

Qian Buqun then said, "President Cheng, I heard that your operating system is very popular now."

"It's all small-scale work," Cheng Yi said with an embarrassed smile. "We've only covered a little over 100,000 internet cafes in total."

"This is already very impressive," Qian Buqun exclaimed. "Besides Microsoft systems, you should now have the number one system in Asia."

"It's not very useful. Our share of global operating system users is probably less than 0.1%. Anyway, we'll have to switch to your system later, so just make do with it for now," Cheng Yi said hypocritically.

“No, there’s no rush to change it.” Qian Buqun immediately said, “If possible, you should try to compete with Microsoft in the operating system field as well. Even if you can only capture 20% of the Chinese market, that would be a win-win situation.”

“But we don’t have industrial software, so we can only stay in internet cafes.” Cheng Yi sighed and said, “We really have the will but not the power.”

(End of this chapter)