Last week I felt behind the times. I’m the guy who’s supposed to be up on all the latest and greatest and as I was being asked a very simple question I could feel my heart sink. All the customer wanted to know was how to save a Microsoft Word document. I can’t imagine the impression I made when I didn’t know how to save a Word document.

Within minutes we figured it out and she was off and running. Turns out the Office version she was using was available free online from Outlook.com, Microsoft’s email website. After she left I had to ask myself why a company that owns roughly 70% of the operating system market would give away a product.

My noggin pondered the notion for a bit and then it hit me: Microsoft has to compete against the Google Chrome operating system and free Google Docs. Chromebooks are gaining in popularity due in part to being handed out in schools. Microsoft had to scramble to avoid losing future market share by giving away a version of its product.

Competing against Chrome is going to be an uphill battle for Microsoft. Years ago Microsoft could get away with selling premium products at premium prices. Microsoft’s model of targeting businesses with server products and office suites has outdated. Operating systems, office suites and networking have become commodities with the introduction of products like Google Chrome and Docs.

Google did something right when it created Google Docs and Drive. Whether by dumb luck or good marketing, they tapped into the younger generation’s team based work ethic. I’ve mentioned in earlier articles that younger generations seem to not only be adept at collaborating, but seem to prefer working with others.

Google is gambling on younger generations adopting its technology which is why it has focused sales efforts on schools. Microsoft seems to be the latecomer and has been pushing its offering in a similar (but not as profitable) fashion. For Microsoft, changing to this new way of working will truly be an uphill battle partly because their model will need to be completely revamped.

For the first time for in as long as I can remember, Microsoft will be giving away upgrades to Windows 10. The upgrades are only for Windows 7 and 8 users, but they’re still free. This is one step closer to the Chrome and Apple OSX model of making an initial purchase and receiving free upgrades.

The software market has changed significantly in the past couple years and Microsoft seems to be the last to adapt. A company like Microsoft could take years to transform based on its colossal size. I can’t imagine rewriting decades of a company’s business culture and making that change overnight.

My prediction is that for Microsoft to hold their share of the market they will need to change to a paid add-on based product. In other words, they will practically give away the operating system and their own software but will charge handsomely for additional features. Many people don’t realize that many components included with Windows are actually licensed to Microsoft and add to the operating system’s price tag.

Microsoft will have to change if they want to stay the market leader. The old adage, “the bigger they are the harder they fall” truly seems to be relevant. If Microsoft doesn’t adapt to a new model shortly they will fall behind and risk losing a portion of their market share to Google.

(Jeromy Patriquin is the President of Laptop & Computer Repair, Inc. located at 509 Main St. in Gardner. You can call him at (978) 919-8059 or visit www.LocalComputerWiz.com.)