On one hand, I hate MS. On the other hand, EU tech companies need to be better and EU consumers need to support them.<p>Step 1: all the tech companies should stop using Windows (and MacOS for that matter). They whine about MS but still use their products. So use Linux, use LibreOffice, use EU based email or roll your own, develop software on open standards, etc...<p>Look at what the non-MS (and non-Apple) FAANGs do; they use OSS operating systems, tech stacks and build their whole infrastructure on open tech and standards, apart from a few proprietary bits rolled in-house.<p>EU tech's problem is that they all try to be MS but aren't. None of them seem to model what they do on the successful non-MS/Apple big tech companies.
You don’t have to use their crap. I don’t.<p>It is chosen by businesses and individuals because it’s about the only complete solution out there (even if it is a monumental shit show) which is cost effective. Either that or they are ignorant or genuinely like it.<p>The EU tech sector needs to build something better. LibreOffice and Linux as it stands is not it. I tried over and over again to use it but it’s just not good.<p>I’m lurking in the leper colony of iCloud, Sheets and Numbers for reference and do most of my stuff on iOS. It’s different but not better.
It‘s actually very simple:<p>Ban FAANGs from public procurement in the EU.<p>That‘s it.<p>Watch them squirm, pocket their billions spent on lobbying, and then say „sorry no“ and ban them from all public procurement processes, in all countries in the EU.<p>In 10 years, Europe will be a software superpower.
The EU tech companies only have themselves to blame in my view. I’ve been working in tech for over 30 years and it was precisely those EU tech companies that created crap products and treated their customers like crap, that made consumers and businesses look elsewhere. I have very little sympathy I’m afraid as if I’m a business or even providing public services I want the best products, support and customer service. That is all it takes to compete, so let’s see some EU tech companies stop whinging and start serving customers with amazing products and even better service. I’ve seen it in pockets, so I know the potential is there.
Ok, but then force Android and macOS to unbundle their crap. Why do I have to use Chrome and Gmail as default? Why do I get force fed iMessage, Safari and iCloud?
Does anyone have any good arguments for why we lack any serious blue-chip competitors in the EU?<p>I mean we have things like Spotify and SAP (though they're b2b). But I really can't see any parallels with the US tech industry. There really is no company that comes to mind in the EU where I think "yeah that's where all the software engineers want to go to".<p>Also what I find super weird is that actually, a lot of the other industries are providing the golden ticket type jobs for SDEs that, in the US, would be reserved for FAANG. For example VW has some pretty great Digital "labs", pay is quite high, and they're even one of the biggest forces investing in quantum research, funding phd programmes and the like.
> Microsoft, Google and Amazon have grown their market share to 66% of the total European market, with local providers contracting from 26% to 16%.<p>While it's certainly a problem that USA companies are swallowing the EU market, the EU has done nothing whatsoever to help itself compete with these companies.<p>It is nearly impossible to start a "startup" company anywhere in the EU. The overwhelming bureaucracy and risk-averseness of obtaining capital and venture investment drives the European founders out of the EU and to USA so they can get some money to start-up their little company.<p>This is not a problem with Google, Microsoft, or Amazon consuming the EU. This is a problem with the EU. They just can't make anything themselves.
> Microsoft is integrating 365 deeper and deeper in their service and software portfolio, including Windows. OneDrive is pushed wherever users deal with file storage and Teams is a default part of Windows 11. This makes it nearly impossible to compete with their SaaS services.<p>Am I the only one that doesn't see what the big deal is here? The integration of cameras into smartphones wrecked the digital camera industry but I've never heard of a digital camera company petitioning the government to ban cameras from being bundled with smartphones to "allow a level playing field". How is this different?
The press release claims they've filed a formal complaint. Can anyone find a link to it? Because complaining just about OneDrive/Teams being pre-installed in Windows seems like pretty weak sauce.
I know this is somewhat tied to the point they are making, but I was interested to see that I don't recognize a single one of the signatory companies on that page.
their demands<p>> No gate keeping (by bundling, pre-installing or pushing Microsoft services) for a level playing field.
> Open standards and interoperability that make an easy migration possible. This gives consumers a free choice.<p>poorly defined and vague. what is "gate keeping"? what is a "level playing field"?<p>migration of what? what is envisioned by open standards? what is a free choice?
The EUs biggest problem is twofold as I can see it. (I have been working in the US and in the EU as well in tech).<p>- legislation that hinders progress<p>- wage & equity structure
We're making it worse, not better, with the absolutely insane amount of digital regulation that the EU, the EU' national governments, and the UK, have been pushing these past 7 years and are continuing to step up almost incessantly. The number of major new digital laws being considered by our legislators is staggering. Even the lawyers can't keep up, let alone the companies meant to be scaling, trying things out and competing under all that. Quantity does not equal quality, when it comes to regulation.
idk why people still use microsoft stuff, only quality thing coming from microsoft is their hardware. Really can’t imagine a niche they have a monopoly in.
When I, as a European Union citizen, want to watch some videos of how to access European funds for investments on the EU Commission's website, they are all securely hosted in European Data Centers, using a nicely European-built streaming service to play them. Just kidding, they embed YouTube, an American company.<p>I think until the weird robed cultists that run the EU find some time between their Brussels orgies to encourage innovation inside the EU borders, we'll only be using fines and legalese to even the playing field with the rest of the world.