People use Microsoft OneDrive.

1. Is it the best? Nope.
2. Is it the cheapest? Nope.
3. Does it have the most beautiful design? Hell no.

Some things won't make sense — this is one of them. But wait, it's not only Microsoft OneDrive.

It's every single Microsoft product. They're just slightly below average. I'll exclude PowerPoint, Excel, Word, and maybe Azure from the equation.

I didn't even make this up. Let me make this article powered by user comments. Yes, you, the reader, are featured in this article.

Comment: "Slack beats teams hands down. Teams, like 98% of MS tools, is a bloated, buggy mess."

Comment: "Nobody likes teams."

Response to comment: "True.. we were forced to use it. I liked Slack more.."

Now, the real question is — how did Microsoft "force" people to use their products even though they're not as good as what's out there? Let's analyze.

What's a good unique selling point?

Honestly, having a better product is a good unique selling point. If users will use your product instead of the current solutions because your product is faster or more superior, that gives you a huge edge.

But that's not the case with Microsoft products.

• Google Drive is not faster than Microsoft OneDrive. But it's still somehow "better."
• Apple Mail is not faster than Microsoft Outlook. They're both actually horrifying.

If you were to develop a new email system that's 10x better than both of those, you're on to something. But there's a problem.

Microsoft will replicate your product with 90% of your quality. You'll still have a better product, but that won't matter.

Even though it's a good unique selling point, Microsoft is a whale with a different business strategy. Let's go back to one of you, the commentators.

I don't want any single Microsoft product, but I'll accept all of them.

It's as simple as "make 100 products that are 85% as good as the competitors and sell them all together." (aka Bundling)

Comment: "Microsoft has those numbers because of O365. If Teams were not bundles with office, it would be another story."

We were "forced" to use Microsoft products:

• Because it doesn't make sense to pay Slack $7 per month when Teams is in your bundle.
• Pay Evernote $10 per month when you have OneNote in your bundle? Nope.

When you buy a meal from McDonald's for $10, including fries and a Coke, you won't think of getting a better Coke from the nearby shop. You already have a "free" Coke that's acceptable.

Now, Microsoft is not confining it to a few products. They want it all.

Imagine having a bundle of replicas of literally every possible platform/app you could think of — Welcome to Microsoft.

It's not only Microsoft — It's all major tech companies.

• Google has its bundle.
• Apple has its bundle.

They're all in the same game. They want to retain you as a customer and provide you with what you need. But their strategies differ.

• Apple won't immediately launch a new ChatGPT in the iCloud for your pleasure. They'll wait and develop a beautiful product and then show it to you. They take their time.
• Google is similar to Microsoft in that sense, but they're a tiny step slower. Remember, they don't have an OS to rely on like Windows and MacOS. So they won't be able to force products into users' lives the same way Apple and Microsoft do.

Don't take it personally; it's a strategy.

From Microsoft, it's strategically smart. That's why they jumped in to invest in OpenAI years ago. They wanted to add Copilot to their super bundle.

Those people who are using Gmail, why don’t you switch to a Microsoft account and get all the perks? They’ll make it very lucrative.

Comment: "As someone said — Slack has 20m users, and Teams has 300m hostages."

You could feel that this is unfair. But in the business world, this is genius. Microsoft is playing the business game correctly (The entrepreneurial one, not so much.)

But the business game is what keeps you going.

• Entrepreneurship is vital to get into the market.
• But sustaining that requires a business mindset.

That's what made their valuation chart climb to almost $3 trillion.

What you ought to do is to learn from this. Customers act based on what's logical.

If your offer is logical, then they'll buy it. In other words, if you're offering a bundle that saves them money and time, they'll go for it.

Simply make their lives easier, and you got yourself a business.

That's my take on why many people hate Microsoft products yet still use them. The commentators said it all.

Microsoft constantly thinks about what the user wants and gets them something almost as good as the competition. They'll keep doing that for as long as it works, and I don't see a reason why it won't in the near future.

Yet, this is an interactive article; what do you think of Microsoft's dominance? Do you think the lack of creativity will eventually force it to lose its position? or do you think they're set to become the world's most valuable company?

Write a comment, and let's start a discussion.

I'm AL, a business consultant in Zurich, Switzerland. I believe in the power of delivering value to you, the reader. Follow me on various social media platforms if you're interested in the value of my content.