Windows Media Platform Less Strategic

Changing market conditions and company priorities have reduced the strategic importance of the Windows Media platform to Microsoft. The company once believed that a single platform for encoding and copy-protecting digital media (audio and video) would put the PC at the center of home entertainment and earn additional revenue from technology licensing and server sales. But Microsoft is now taking a market-driven approach, with different technologies and strategies for mobile digital media, home entertainment, and content owners and distributors. As Microsoft expends less effort improving and promoting the Windows Media platform, current Windows Media partners will need to consider alternatives.

One Platform to Rule Them All

Until recently, Microsoft approached customers and partners with a single Windows Media platform that included all the software required to deliver digital audio and video to users on Windows. That strategy was meant to protect Windows PCs from competitive threats in digital media and to promote the then-emerging Windows Server for digital media delivery.