Why Microsoft Created Visual Studio Code: A Comprehensive Analysis

Visual Studio Code (VS Code) is an immensely popular, open-source code editor that has gained widespread use among developers. But why did Microsoft, a Microsoft-focused company, decide to develop VS Code, a fork from the Atom editor? This question requires a deeper dive into the strategic and business motivations behind this development.

FOSS and the Business Model

VS Code is an implementation of the Atom editor, which itself is an open-source code editor. The Atom editor was originally developed by GitHub and was made available under the MIT license, allowing it to be freely distributed and modified. Similarly, VS Code was released as open-source (FOSS) software under the MIT License. However, the question remains: why did Microsoft not simply charge for Atom if the revenue potential was significant?

The simple answer is that charging for Atom would have required it to be fully supported as a product. In a large, complex organization like Microsoft, supporting a product involves dealing with a myriad of issues including support documentation, accessibility policies, price modeling, cost allocation, internationalization, and sales team enablement. Each of these areas requires substantial resources and money. Without such resources, a fully-featured and supported product would be challenging to maintain and scale. This would not be aligned with Microsoft's business strategies and resource allocation.

A Shift in Business Strategy

Microsoft has evolved over the years. They have stopped pretending that Linux never existed and have embraced the multi-platform reality. This shift in attitude has led to a new business model: selling services rather than just products. This approach aligns with their acquisition of GitHub, another open-source powerhouse, and the development of VS Code.

VS Code's primary goal is to attract and retain a community of developers while providing them with tools to easily publish and deploy their applications on Microsoft's cloud platforms. This not only aligns with their broader business interests but also ensures a steady stream of developers using their services. The integration of core Microsoft services into VS Code makes publishing on the Azure platform a seamless experience, further entrenching developers in their ecosystem.

Strategic Goals and Market Share

Microsoft's primary strategic goal is to attract developers away from other cloud platforms, such as AWS, and into their Azure ecosystem. Microsoft realizes that the future of computing is increasingly cloud-based, and they want to be the dominant player in this space. By making VS Code a free, robust, and widely used tool, they can create a virtuous cycle where developers are more likely to develop for and deploy on their cloud services.

To illustrate this, consider the growth of VS Code. It has become one of the most popular code editors, preferred by developers worldwide. This popularity translates into a significant number of developers using Microsoft's services. As more developers use VS Code, they are more likely to run their applications on Azure, thus increasing Microsoft's market share in the cloud services market.

As the cloud market continues to grow, companies need to innovate and provide value to developers. VS Code not only serves as a powerful development tool but also as a strategic asset for Microsoft, helping to drive their cloud services forward.

Conclusion

Microsoft's decision to create Visual Studio Code was driven by strategic and business motivations. By making VS Code a free and open-source tool, they can attract and retain a large number of developers, which in turn helps to drive their cloud services. This approach aligns with their broader strategy of becoming the dominant player in the cloud services market.

Key Points

VS Code is a fork from the Atom editor, which is itself open-source. Charging for Atom would require significant support and resources, not aligning with Microsoft's strategic goals. Microsoft has shifted to a service-based business model, as illustrated by their acquisition of GitHub and the development of VS Code. VS Code is designed to integrate with Microsoft's cloud services, particularly Azure, to attract and retain developers.

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