If you follow the IP TV market, you must have read a lot about Microsoft’s prospects in this promising global market. I will list some of the main points that I have come across. The reason Microsoft has had some traction in the market is because around the time when telcos started trialing IP TV some three or four years ago there were not many off the shelf middleware products out in the market. Having an early version of the IP TV middleware did not help Microsoft cement its place though. The telecos who deployed the solution found themselves 2 to 3 years delayed in their deployment plans.
And it is not just the delay, there are scalability problems as well. Numbers from AT&T and Deutsche Telekom in the past have pointed at Microsoft being able to support 600 subscribers per server. That is not exactly carrier grade. Microsoft also experienced problems at BT with their DRM software crashing, bringing down the IP TV service. Among the technical and middle management ranks at these telcos there is no great love for the Microsoft product. Microsoft IP TV deployments there are driven by top management relationships.
There have also been some integration issues with the back end systems. And to top it all, Microsoft IP TV client architecture is so heavy it does not easily fit on to the low end IP STBs. That is one of the reasons why Verizon decided to abandon Microsoft middleware. The other major service provider who called the deal off with Microsoft was Bell Canada.
That being said, Microsoft has a lot of resources. The AT&T service is starting to grow. Swisscom and BT service is growing slowly. Microsoft IP TV middleware was supporting 370 thousand live IP TV customers as of June 2007. Some of the tier one customers will probably bring in an additional middleware vendor just to be safe.
However, I think the verdict on Microsoft prospects is still out. At this stage all one can say that there is plenty of room for several middleware vendors in the IP TV market.