Network World, 01/04/99

BILL GATES CEO, MICROSOFT

Roll tape. Action!

Yes, that sometimes combative, sometimes hair-splitting, often forgetful star defense witness in the government's high-profile antitrust case against Microsoft was none other than your 25 Most Powerful perennial himself, Bill Gates.

Aside from Uncle Sam, a major thorn in Gates' side, 1998 was a fine year for Bill. Microsoft's financial types like to warn analysts that the gravy train will slow down at some point, but so far there's no reason to believe them. Microsoft ended fiscal '98 with nearly $4.5 billion in profit on revenue of $14.5 billion. (And customers complain about Cisco's margins!)

Despite the legal scrutiny of Microsoft, Gates and his highly focused minions show no signs of letting up - particularly in the enterprise arena. The company continues making great strides in the Internet software space, and Windows NT, now renamed Windows 2000, keeps marching onward and upward. Microsoft, with help from Qualcomm, also set its sights on boosting the use of wireless devices based on its stripped down Windows CE operating system, and continued acquiring or investing in companies that can fuel future growth - adding 18 major new partners in 1998. (Check out the roster at www.windows.com/msft/invest.htm.)

GATES' CHALLENGE: What could bother Bill in 1999? Let's go with the three L's: legal problems, lateness and Linux. Will the government break up Microsoft? Will continued delays in delivering Windows 2000 slow the revenue growth? Will the open-source software movement - with Linux as its poster child - rock Redmond? Stay tuned. Oh, and keep an eye on that AOL/Netscape and Sun troika.

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