If that's true, yes, Windows Server has been irrelevant for some time. It wouldn't explain the remapping of Office, though.
> Windows Server has been irrelevant for some time.
Most definitely not. There are a ton of Microsoft Certified Somethings that will refuse to administrate Linux servers unless their life depends on it.
Source: I work at SAP's internal cloud unit. We have to support Windows VMs (begrudgingly, if I may say), even for payloads that could run on Linux.
Re:The End of Windows
by mixmastamyk on Monday April 02, 2018 @01:47PM
(#16737035)
Inflexible workers will be separated from their jobs eventually, its just a matter of time.
What makes you think that? Those inflexible workers are also those who make the purchasing decisions. A shop full of Windows admins will not switch to Linux unless forced to (and vice versa).
Re:The End of Windows
by mixmastamyk on Monday April 02, 2018 @02:28PM
(#16737611)
And many will eventually be outsourced. In fact, systems administration as a profession is on the downswing due to the cloud. This site itself is largely focused on "disrupting" inefficiency with automation.
Not only due to cloud; even if you have local bunch of immutable OS instances like CoreOS or RHEL atomic running containers, you don't need a big staff babysitting server OSes.
Re:The End of Windows
by mixmastamyk on Tuesday April 03, 2018 @12:01PM
(#16745989)
Yes, conflated cloud and containers in my head when writing that comment.
Office is Office365 rebranded - which just means the lock-in is a monthly subscription instead of a license. The lock-in is further exploited because email is the cornerstone of any business productivity suite and it'll be hosted on Azure now (which is a huge lock-in to their ecosystem).
That Windows we all know, both desktop and server side, is not dead. The economics on the server side are diminishing (20~30 year outlook) and Microsoft won't be around if they don't do something about it now.
IMHO it's a very smart strategy, people just didn't understand what Ben was saying because he didn't articulate it correctly (which I do find with his content, but it's less often the case)