In the video below, Fool analysts Charly Travers and Austin Smith look at some of the risks facing Microsoft (MSFT +2.11%).
For decades, Microsoft was the case study of a dominant, wide-moat company, with a stout balance sheet and a hold on a market that seemed impenetrable. Then, competitors like Apple (AAPL 0.87%) began to chip away with iPods and iPhones, capturing the growing mobile market that Microsoft was missing. The destruction caused by devices like tablets cannot be underestimated, Austin says.
Meanwhile, Google (GOOG +1.71%) is challenging Microsoft on another front, taking on the latter's Office products with Google Docs
But Microsoft is not defenseless. It is responding. With its own tablet and mobile operating system, Microsoft is looking to face its competitors head on. With Microsoft's new products on the market, the next quarter could be very telling as to how that fight is starting to shape up.
