Who would still start a business seriously after being reborn?

Chapter 621: Just one word: Do it!

After exchanging pleasantries, the group took their seats.

Fang Ping was already quite familiar with Du Yusheng and Li Chengxuan, so he didn't beat around the bush and went straight to the point: "President Cheng, I'm here today partly because Chairman Li asked me to come and visit Momo Group. On the other hand, I've also brought a potential opportunity for cooperation."

He paused for a moment, then continued, “In recent years, the real estate industry has developed rapidly, but the level of informatization in internal management, project collaboration, blueprint design, and financial processes varies greatly. Many are still using very primitive methods, which are inefficient and prone to errors. Therefore, our center is taking the lead in promoting a large-scale informatization upgrade of the industry, initially involving the procurement of office software, project management software, and even operating systems for more than 50,000 real estate companies.”

"More than 50,000?" Even Cheng Yi, who had seen the world, was slightly taken aback.

He only knew that the real estate industry had been booming in the past year or two, but he really didn't expect that the number would reach more than 50,000.

This is only 2005.

The purchasing volume of more than 50,000 real estate companies is indeed considerable, comparable to the purchasing scale of an entire medium-sized province.

Upon hearing this number, Du Yusheng gave Cheng Yi a look, a hint of excitement flashing in his eyes.

His eyes seemed to say, "Praise me, praise me!"

But Fang Ping changed the subject, a hint of helplessness on his face, and said, "However, Microsoft is moving very quickly. Their Project management software, Azure DevOps, and Windows Server system are almost the default choice for large real estate companies and design institutes. Their team has been active in our center and various departments recently, lobbying very hard."

"Another deputy director of the management center also felt that adopting Microsoft's solution was the safest option, since it is in line with international standards."

He looked at Cheng Yi and said frankly, "Personally, and some people in the center, still support domestic systems and software. After all, data security, customized services, and long-term costs are all factors we must consider. But Mr. Cheng, you should also understand that passion alone is not enough."

Cheng Yi nodded slowly and said, "I understand. Microsoft's solution may not be the best, but it is the one that real estate professionals are most familiar with."

Upon seeing Cheng Yi speak up for Microsoft, Du Yusheng immediately became anxious.

Before he could speak, Li Chengxuan, who was very knowledgeable about the real estate industry, said, "Indeed, many designers are used to AutoCAD, and project managers are used to MS Project. Asking them to switch to an unfamiliar system will definitely face considerable resistance. Unless your product can achieve a smooth transition and have a low enough learning cost."

The current problems in the real estate industry are exactly the same as the difficulties analyzed by Huang Wenrong and Yu Sen, only they are more prominent in the vertical field of real estate.

However, Yu Sen and his team had already resolved these issues long ago.

In the real estate sector, Yu Sen and his team have integrated a unified workbench that combines project collaboration, financial processes, customer relationship management, and even lightweight BIM model viewing and drawing annotation functions.

They also provide highly compatible viewing, editing, and conversion solutions for MS Project files, AutoCAD dwg drawing files, and even Oracle databases.

After all, these industrial software programs were built using IBM's software library; they just matured within the Microsoft ecosystem.

Now Cheng Yi is considering whether or not to take on this task.

If we take on the project, the real estate industry is a huge market, but swallowing it whole won't be an easy task.

Things are all intertwined and complicated, with some relationships that are hard to unravel.

Cheng Yi slowly said, "Actually, the strength of our Momo Group is not enough to compete with Microsoft for projects on a national scale."

After Cheng Yi finished speaking, the conference room fell into a brief silence.

The excitement in Du Yusheng's eyes slowly faded, replaced by a hint of nervousness, because he understood why Cheng Yi was hesitating.

Li Chengxuan also understood that this decision was by no means a small matter for Momo Group.

With 50,000 real estate companies nationwide, the allure of this market is undeniable, but it also means that the battle will be instantly extended from three carefully selected provinces to the entire national market.

This will directly disrupt Momo Group's established strategy of "first cultivating its base, then aiming for the world," forcing them to fight against the behemoth Microsoft on multiple fronts simultaneously.

Can the group's human, material, and financial resources support this?
If we suffer a setback, will our core business also be affected?

Opportunities are often linked to risks.

At this moment, Cheng Yi was rapidly deducing the scenario in his mind.

Fragments of memories from the past life constantly intertwine with the current situation.

He recalled how Microsoft's near-monopoly position in the Chinese operating system market was gradually consolidated.

If Microsoft successfully takes over the emerging but massive real estate market this time, and its ecosystem is fully established, Momo will likely have to pay ten or even a hundred times the price to try and gain a foothold in the future.

If Microsoft can forcefully break through in the area it is most determined to win, even if it cannot completely devour the prize, just taking a small bite would have immeasurable symbolic significance and practical value.

"Director Fang," Cheng Yi finally broke the silence after much consideration, saying, "Thank you for giving Momo Group this opportunity. We'll take this project!"

Cheng Yi's response made Du Yusheng breathe a sigh of relief, and a smile returned to his face.

Fang Ping observed Cheng Yi's expression and immediately understood that Cheng Yi was the one who truly determined the future of Momo Group.

This Chairman Du Yusheng is probably similar to that Chairman Yang Yuanqing.

Cheng Yi personally poured Fang Ping a cup of tea and said, "Director Fang, I would like to understand more specifically what the decision-making mechanism is like at the management center level? What are the specific concerns of the other two deputy directors? Is it purely a lack of trust in the technology, or are there other considerations? Also, does the final decision require unanimous approval from the management center's leadership team, or a majority vote? What are the review criteria?"

His barrage of questions left Fang Ping somewhat stunned.

However, each question hit the nail on the head very directly.

From these questions, Fang Ping knew that Cheng Yi was very familiar with the decision-making process within the system.

He looked at Cheng Yi with admiration, pondered for a moment, and replied, "The preliminary plan needs to be discussed and approved by the leadership team before it can be submitted. Currently, there are three votes, and my vote will definitely support the attempt at localization. As for the other two deputy directors, Deputy Director Wang values ​​international standards and stability more, believing that adopting a mature solution can avoid the risk of project failure, while Deputy Director Liu is a fence-sitter."

The word "fence-sitter" not only showed Fang Ping's trust in them, but also allowed him to vent his inner dissatisfaction.

Fang Ping continued, "The final submitted plan, in principle, requires majority approval. The evaluation criteria are, on the surface, the advancement and cost-effectiveness of the technical solution. But privately..." Fang Ping sighed and said, "Personal relationships and concerns about taking responsibility also have a great influence. Microsoft's prestigious reputation is a shield for them to avoid making mistakes."

After listening, Cheng Yi nodded slowly; the situation was slightly more complicated than he had anticipated.

"I understand. In other words, to win this opportunity, we need to be just as good as Microsoft's proposal in terms of the hard metrics, and we also need to eliminate the decision-makers' concerns as much as possible, giving them the confidence and reason to choose us." "That's right, that's exactly the point." Fang Ping said with emotion, "Especially the former is the foundation. As long as your proposal is strong enough, my voice can be heard more loudly."

“Okay.” Cheng Yi nodded and said, “Director Fang, please give us a week. After a week, please come to Momo Group with the relevant leaders and experts from the center. We will hold a closed-door, comprehensive solution defense meeting for the real estate industry, and let our products and solutions speak for themselves.”

“Okay, no problem.” Fang Ping smiled immediately.

After finishing their tea, Li Chengxuan pulled Fang Ping to do what they loved.

After seeing Fang Ping and Li Chengxuan off, Cheng Yi's composure gradually faded, replaced by an unprecedented solemnity.

He did not announce it immediately, but returned to his office alone and stood in front of the huge national map, remaining silent for a long time.

50,000 real estate companies...the national market...

Cheng Yi's fingers unconsciously traced the provinces on the map, his heart filled with some conflict.

Standing next to Cheng Yi, Du Yusheng could feel the pressure Cheng Yi was under.

He thought he had landed a big order, but he never expected it would cause Cheng Yi so much trouble.

Du Yusheng couldn't help but say, "Boss, let's not do this project this year."

Du Yusheng now fully understands Cheng Yi's concerns.

This project is indeed excellent; it is both an opportunity for them to double their size overnight and a trap that could drag them into the abyss.

Currently, their strategy of maintaining a foothold in the three provinces is the most stable, since launching a full-scale war before consolidating their foundation is a major taboo in military strategy.

Moreover, Microsoft's roots in the government and enterprise market are too deep, especially in those long-established departments and large state-owned enterprises, where relationships are deeply intertwined and cannot be shaken in a short period of time by product strength alone.

If we disperse our resources to grab orders across the country now, the likely result is that we will fail to defend our three provinces and fail to open up the national market, leading to a complete loss.

“It’s not that there’s no way.” Cheng Yi’s eyes suddenly lit up, and he murmured, “The only way now is to bypass the barrier…”

Instantly, countless classic cases of internet companies conquering new territories from his past life flashed through his mind.

Free strategy.

"Director Fang said the final bidding is scheduled for the end of December?" Cheng Yi suddenly asked.

"Yes, Director Fang said the process takes time, and the final public bidding will be held on December 28th, after the national government and enterprise procurement process concludes," Du Yusheng confirmed.

"Nearly two and a half months..." Cheng Yi's mind raced as he slowly said, "We can't wait for the bidding day. We need to get at least half of the real estate companies using our system before the bidding even begins."

"How is this possible?" Du Yusheng was stunned.

"Three months of free trial," Cheng Yi said decisively.

He walked to the whiteboard, picked up a pen, and began to write quickly, his thoughts becoming clearer and clearer.

The goal this time shouldn't be to make money, but to cultivate user habits, just like Microsoft desperately burned money for three months to defend MSN. Three months is enough for users to get used to a product.

“Three months of free trial…” Du Yusheng murmured, repeating the phrase over and over, saying, “Boss, isn’t this investment too big? Not to mention the servers, bandwidth, and technical support team, just the on-the-ground promotion is a bottomless pit. And what if we can’t win this bid? Wouldn’t we lose everything?”

Cheng Yi shook his head and said, "Fatty, do you think we have any choices right now? Under the established rules, can we compete with Microsoft in terms of connections and brand?"

Du Yusheng was silent.

The answer is obvious: almost impossible.

“So, our only way out is to not play by their rules.” Cheng Yi slammed his hand on the map in front of him and said, “We’re going to make our own rules. The bidding is at the end of December, so we’ll use the next two and a half months to make it a done deal.”

Cheng Yi said sharply, "If Microsoft still wins the bid, then we'll give it to them for free until next October! It's all about one word: Do it!"

"Even if we lose money, we must at least get 30,000 real estate companies used to our system and software, so as to lay the foundation for procurement next year."

"We can pour all the profits from the next three months of the 'Primordial Era' and 'World of Warcraft' projects into this project, even if it means temporarily cutting back on other projects, to ensure that this project has sufficient funding."

As Du Yusheng listened to Cheng Yi's crazy plan, his breathing gradually became heavy.

He knew Cheng Yi well; once Cheng Yi made a decision, nothing could change it.

Du Yusheng nodded slowly and said, "I think it's feasible. Even if Microsoft knows what we're going to do, they can't follow suit! They can't give up their high licensing fees to play the free game with us. Their huge shareholders and profit targets won't allow them to do that."

“That’s right!” Cheng Yi sneered, “If Microsoft really wants to go free, then we’ll go for it. Haven’t they always wanted to drag us into this money-burning game? If they’re going to burn money, then let them burn it in government and enterprise procurement! As long as they dare to burn money, we’ll play along to the end. Anyway, it’s Chinese companies that will benefit. Let’s just say we’re working with Microsoft to bring warmth to companies all over the country.”

Du Yusheng grinned and said, "That's right. If it really catches fire, then let's consider it an early New Year's greeting to our business friends across the country. I think we can use this as the sponsor's line for this year's Spring Festival Gala."

"Momo Group sends New Year's greetings to all entrepreneurs across the country watching on television..."

At this moment, within Microsoft Asia Group, Waters was not in a good mood.

Their original plan was to target Momo Group, making it too busy to focus on government and corporate procurement.

But now, they are trapped in a subsidy trap and can't get out, while Lianxiang Group is still reeling from the heavy blow from Momo Group.

The script's direction completely exceeded his expectations.

The report in front of him clearly outlined the recent developments of the Momo Group.

This once insignificant company is now brazenly challenging their position in government and corporate procurement.

"Lianxiang's offensive absolutely cannot stop." After much hesitation, Waters finally decided to provide financial support to Lianxiang.

(End of this chapter)