What Is Anything But Microsoft (ABM)?

Hey, Microsoft You're great. We get it. You've been around for a while, and you're pretty successful in some areas. But other companies are just as good or better at what they do, and some customers don't want to use your products because they prefer other options. So what do those customers do? They go with "Anything But Microsoft" (ABM), which means they choose products made by other companies that aren't as well-known or even smaller local tech companies and stop supporting Microsoft altogether. An anything-but-Microsoft attitude reflects the general dissatisfaction with Microsoft's dominance in specific markets. Vendors that provide alternatives to popular Microsoft products have encouraged the anything-but-Microsoft mentality. Microsoft's dominant products have included its server software, Windows operating software, Microsoft Office, and Internet Explorer. Microsoft has a reputation for being the bad guy. It's not entirely undeserved: the company has been accused of monopolistic practices, and its products have been known to be unstable and require continuous updates and patches. Yet, Microsoft still owns a massive chunk of the market share in most areas. This can be attributed to factors, including their size and scale, but also to the fact that people are used to hating them. It's something they expect from Microsoft. The ABM mindset has become so prevalent that it impacts even those who don't like Microsoft or its products. It can also affect how we treat other companies when we see someone using Apple instead of Windows, for example, we might assume they're doing so because they're elitist snobs who want to show off how much money they have (and thus how much better than everyone else). In addition to all of this, another problem is that when it comes to making purchases, people frequently rely more on emotion than logic. They buy things because they want them, not because they need them. It can lead us down some strange paths when the time comes.