"This is the most complex undertaking ever attempted in software, " says William Coleman, who cofounded Oracle rival BEA Systems and now runs server-tech firm Cassatt.
Germany's SAP, America's Oracle and other companies that create big IT systems are rolling out software to make it easier for firms that work with them to develop their own mobile apps.
No, Ballmer knew he needed to try something very different from what Microsoft has traditionally done, so he decided to mimic not only Oracle but also Apple in pursuing the engineered-systems approach of hardware and software designed together from the ground up.