American History 1988
Chapter 240 - 233 Greed

Chapter 240: Chapter 233 Greed

"They rejected our offer?" Gates was somewhat surprised to hear the news.

As far as he knew, that so-called RAS CALL hardly had any users yet.

"Yes, they think Microsoft’s bid is too low. You might find it hard to believe, Bill.

That young man named Brian even compared them to Byte Company.

He insisted that RAS CALL would soon catch up with Teams’ pace, and at a cheaper price."

"Huh~" Gates’s expression showed faint disdain, "Price alone will not win the fight against Byte Company."

Gates had looked at some of Dean’s roadshows too.

Put aside the media-facing promotions for a moment, but he greatly admired Dean’s use of Byte Company’s customer service as a marketing tool.

It had to be said that this was a very clever move, as no one had done it before.

After the roadshows, not only did investment banks believe that Byte Company would win a large number of loyal customers.

Regular consumers also spoke highly of Byte Company’s quality customer service; they bought not only the product but also Byte’s thoughtful service.

As a software company himself, Gates also realized that future market competition would not only be about the product itself but also various invisible added services.

If RAS CALL wanted to win the market with low prices, perhaps it would work in the short term.

But the one inevitably eliminated would still be themselves because they couldn’t maintain a nationwide service network.

Byte Company had invested a substantial amount of money in this area. What would RAS CALL use to compete with Teams?

Gates didn’t need to think to know that it was merely the other party’s negotiating tactic.

"Has the internal investigation on the instant messaging software market been completed by Microsoft? If we compete with Byte Company, what market share are we expected to capture?"

Steve flipped through the materials in his hand, "Based on our projections from Byte Company’s financial data, this part of the market is roughly between 1 and 2 billion dollars.

Taking into account that they have already established their market ecosystem, plus the upcoming suite of office software as an ecological derivative base.

We might find it difficult to shift their users to Microsoft’s embrace in a short period, so the remaining incremental market is Microsoft’s opportunity.

This segment’s revenue scale is about 2 to 3 hundred million dollars. Of course, we have more advantages over Byte Company overseas."

Although Byte Company was not established for long, even during rapid expansion, they proceeded steadily.

That acclaimed service network is proof; newcomers wanting a share of the market could only consider the incremental market.

After all, customers won’t easily switch from the brands they are accustomed to, especially when they are satisfied with the after-sales service.

"Do we have other ways to narrow this gap?" Gates frowned slightly.

He was accustomed to swift and decisive actions, then quickly swallowing up market shares in a very short time.

The competition between Microsoft and Micropro in the word document field, and the competition with Lotus Software in the spreadsheet market, both employed this strategy.

First mimic, then rely on the system advantages of Windows or MS-DOS to quickly seize the market.

After that, slowly refine the product, update versions, and ultimately eat into the competitors’ market share.

Gates now wanted to replicate this approach, the methods might be crude, but effective.

"Byte Company is very cautious; they’ve applied for a lot of usage patents for the Teams software.

If we want to circumvent them, Microsoft needs a longer development cycle, at least six months or more."

Teams wasn’t so easily imitated, not to mention the various patents; Byte Company had also specialized in this field for over a year.

If Microsoft wanted to compete with Teams, they would at least need a relatively mature product.

Otherwise, let alone capturing the market, they might even damage their own reputation.

"Six months? No, Smith, we must produce our own instant messaging software within three months!"

Gates couldn’t accept this outcome, knowing that Byte Company wouldn’t stand still waiting for him.

Once they completed the IPO, Byte Company’s expansion would surely enter a new phase.

Gates had this experience; he watched Microsoft walk to its current position step by step through such means.

"If we acquire RAS CALL, how much time will it save us?"

Gates was accustomed to taking shortcuts, just like he once spent US$50,000 to buy the DOS system from Seattle Computer Company.

It laid Microsoft’s first step in the OS market and was a strong foundation for its dominant position today.

So as long as the money was well spent, it could save Microsoft a lot of development time.

"Bill, I have to remind you, their appetite is huge; they are even pricing themselves according to Byte Company’s valuation.

But it’s true that RAS CALL has completed a lot of foundation work, it could shorten our development cycle by 2 to 3 months."

Upon hearing Steve’s report, Gates realized he hadn’t yet asked about the quote from the East Coast.

"So how big is their appetite exactly? Didn’t those old-money guys teach that young man how to do business?"

"Perhaps," Steve shrugged and then raised a finger, "they want this much."

"Ten million?" Gates asked nonchalantly.

"No," Steve shook his head, "ten times that number!"

"What?!" Gates looked at Steve incredulously, "Are they planning on robbing Microsoft?"

"I guess that’s very likely." Steve nodded earnestly, he also thought the other party had gone mad.

"Tell them 15 million, or they can sit on that pile of junk and wait to be slowly phased out!"

million dollars? Gates doubted whether they truly intended to sell RAS CALL.

This wasn’t a rational starting price. Did they think that just by imitating Teams, they would become the next Byte Company?

"I will continue negotiating with them, but they have hinted before that Byte Company might also be interested in RAS CALL."

Gates was startled; he had nearly forgotten that Microsoft might not be the real party interested in RAS CALL.

"Has there been any reaction from Byte Company?"

"No, they have finished their roadshow in Europe and are now preparing for their IPO prospectus.

Unless something unexpected happens, Byte Company will soon go public and then enter the quiet period."

In Steve’s view, it was correct for Byte Company not to respond to the outside world at this time.

They had their reasons, and this avoided a lot of trouble.

"Don’t be fooled by appearances, Dean isn’t that simple."

Gates worried that the other side might stab Microsoft in the back with a covert move; he knew Dean was capable of it.

"I will keep in constant contact with the East Coast." Taking Gates’s reminder seriously, Steve became more earnest.

...

"Following Teams, we welcome the second instant messaging software—RAS CALL!

According to the founder, Brian Wiles, RAS CALL will offer a higher cost-performance ratio and a more streamlined user interface.

It is not only targeted at corporate users but also focuses on the usage experience of computer enthusiasts.

And for the price, RAS CALL will be set in an unbelievably low range, 49 US dollars!

Yes, we are certain that this is the real price, there isn’t an extra digit ’1’ in front of it.

This is the standard price for RAS CALL, and it is also a perpetual license; you don’t need to pay for it annually."

When we asked Brian Wiles why he set such a price, he told us that Byte Company was exploiting its monopoly position to rob customers’ wallets with this so-called annual subscription fee.

He wanted to change this situation, claiming that developing RAS CALL was not for making money but for returning instant messaging software prices to normal."

"Bullshit! Are these magazine editors idiots? Do they believe such nonsense?"

Valentine was furiously tossing the latest "PC Technology" magazine onto the table, on the verge of explosion.

"You know, Valentine," Dean sat leisurely on the couch drinking coffee, "these magazines can be swayed with money."

"But they could ruin our plans!" Valentine paced back and forth in the room with his hands on his hips.

Damn it! Just at this time.

"Valentine, our roadshow was very successful, and market feedback exceeded our expectations.

Now all we need is to finalize the prospectus and wait quietly."

Byte Company wouldn’t falter in its IPO just because of a potential competitor.

The market is rational; the latter isn’t even released yet, and the public knows what to choose.

Besides, other than this magazine, mainstream newspapers hardly reported on RAS CALL.

Do you really think Morgan Stanley and Byte Company are pushovers? To ensure the IPO’s success, they quickly gained control over public opinion.

Morgan Stanley took charge of the East Coast, while the West Coast spontaneously defended Byte Company.

The plagiarism in RAS CALL was too blatant for Silicon Valley to tolerate.

So on this matter, everyone tacitly cooperated very harmoniously.

"I just hate these thieves!" Valentine was aware that the East Coast rat wouldn’t affect Byte Company.

But, with their imminent public listing, it’s not so much worry about RAS CALL as it is nervousness for the upcoming IPO.

"Morgan Stanley is inviting us to New York to finalize the stock pricing.

So the most important thing for us to do is pack our bags and buy a few plane tickets to the East Coast."

Dean stretched lazily, then got ready to go back and catch up on sleep.

Poor him, he had just returned from Europe and hadn’t had a chance to adjust to the time difference.

The past few months of travel had darkened Dean’s skin quite a bit.

"I love New York! It would be even better if we could crush that rat!"

Valentine finally waited for this moment, which was even more difficult than when he awaited his daughter’s birth.

...

"William, you bastard!" Hillary picked up a vase from home and smashed it to the ground!

Crash! The shards barely missed Clinton’s thigh as they splintered.

Shit! That was close, Clinton clenched his buttocks and swiftly stepped back two paces.

"Hillary, you’ve gone mad, you almost hurt me!"

Clinton wanted to explode with anger but, considering he was in the wrong, he quietly backed down.

"You swore you wouldn’t go to her again!" Hillary was so infuriated she could’ve performed a vasectomy on him right there; "I’ve had enough! I want her gone!"

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