socalfunplaces Chapter 202 Microsoft to Enter Instant Messaging Market
Chapter 202 Microsoft to Enter Instant Messaging Market
At 3 p.m. sharp, Sun Guofu opened the door to the private room.
He was in his fifties, slightly overweight, wearing a dark blue jacket and carrying a black leather bag. Seeing that Ling Yun was already inside, he quickened his pace and reached out his hand.
"Mr. Ling, thank you for waiting."
"Uncle Sun, please sit down." Ling Yun stood up and shook hands.
A waiter came in to pour tea; it was jasmine tea, and its aroma quickly filled the air. Sun Guofu took out a measuring tape, a notebook, and several pens of different colors from his briefcase.
"Sun Peng told me about it, 300 mu of land." He got straight to the point. "It's next to the Software Park, right? I know that land. It was originally planned for a joint venture factory. The terrain is flat, so there shouldn't be any demolition issues."
"Yes." Ling Yun took out a more detailed sketch from his briefcase and spread it on the table. "This is my idea."
Sun Guofu put on his reading glasses and bent down to look at the picture.
The sketch is hand-drawn, but the proportions are accurate. In the center is a high-rise building labeled "Main Building, 20 floors." Surrounding it are eight low-rise buildings labeled "R&D Building AH, 3-5 floors." The underground area is drawn with dotted lines, labeled "Three-level Garage." A large area of the ground floor is left blank, labeled "Green Space, 70%."
"The green space ratio is so high?" Sun Guofu circled the number in red. "According to regulations, a green space ratio of 35% is sufficient."
"I need 70%," Ling Yun said. "The buildings shouldn't be too dense, and people need to be comfortable. Researchers need a quiet environment, places to take walks, and places where they can see greenery."
"Then the building area will be affected." Sun Guofu pressed a few buttons on his calculator. "Three hundred acres, two hundred thousand square meters. Assuming 70% green space, the buildable land is only sixty thousand square meters. After deducting roads and plazas, the actual building area is about forty thousand square meters. If it's all built on..."
"Don't build it all up." Ling Yun pointed to the sketch. "The R&D buildings should be spaced far apart, and each building should have a courtyard in front and behind it. Leave a plaza in front of the main building, which can be used as an event space."
Sun Guofu was calculating rapidly in his notebook. He wrote with great force, the pen tip scratching the paper.
"Based on this calculation, the total construction area is approximately... 150,000 square meters." He looked up, "which is at least 50,000 square meters less than normal development, meaning a much lower return on investment."
"I'm not a developer, I'm using it myself," Lingyun said. "What I want is the environment, not the floor area ratio."
Sun Guofu nodded and looked at the picture for a while longer.
"Why build a three-story underground parking garage? Two stories would be enough for your building's area."
"We'll reserve space for future needs," Ling Yun said. "There will be more and more vehicles in the future. And underground space can be used for equipment rooms, warehouses, and even data centers. Let's dig deeper and do it all at once."
"The cost will increase." Sun Guofu wrote a number next to "three underground floors": "Each additional floor increases the cost per cubic meter by about 15%. Three floors are 30% more expensive than two floors."
"Money that needs to be spent should be spent."
Sun Guofu put down his pen and took a sip of tea.
"Mr. Ling, let me be frank." He looked at Ling Yun, "Your plan, based on the current construction costs in Jinan, is 1,200 to 1,500 yuan per square meter. For 150,000 square meters, the construction cost would be 180 million to 220 million yuan. Add the underground parking garage, landscaping, intelligent systems, and interior decoration, and the total cost could be 250 million to 300 million yuan. And that doesn't even include the land cost."
"I know."
"You have that much money in your account?"
"We'll pay in installments," Ling Yun said. "The land payment has already been agreed upon in three-year installments. Construction payments will be made according to the project's progress. Construction will begin next year and be completed by the end of the year thereafter, with a payment cycle of two years. The financial pressure is manageable."
Sun Guofu remained silent for a while, then turned to a new page in his notebook.
"Then let me share my thoughts." He picked up a blue pen. "For the main building, which has twenty floors, I suggest a steel structure. Although it's a bit more expensive than concrete, construction is faster, the usable floor area is higher, and it has a modern feel. The research and development building can use a frame structure, which will save money."
"Can."
"For the facade, I suggest using a glass curtain wall with aluminum panels. New office buildings in Shenzhen and Shanghai are using this now; it's impressive and fits the image of a technology company."
"Don't use all glass," Lingyun said. "It's too energy-intensive. Use glass for the south-facing windows, and insulation for the north and west-facing windows. Also, make sure the windows have internal sunshades."
"The appearance might not be consistent enough..."
"Functionality comes first," Ling Yun said. "What we want is for employees to be comfortable working inside, not just for the exterior to look nice."
Sun Guofu wrote in his notebook: "Exterior facade partition design".
"What about intelligent systems?" he asked. "Should we implement building automation? Centralized control of air conditioning, lighting, and security?"
"Yes," Ling Yun said. "And we need to reserve interfaces so that we can connect to our Starry Sky system in the future. I want to be able to control the energy consumption of the entire building from my office computer."
"Well... there aren't many cases like this in China right now."
"Then let's be the first."
Sun Guofu made another note.
"Also," Ling Yun added, "all floors should have gigabit network cables pre-installed, and each office should have at least four network ports. The low-voltage wiring shafts should be large enough for future upgrades."
"Gigabit?" Sun Guofu looked up. "10 Mbps is considered fast these days."
"It will be needed in the future."
"Okay." Sun Guofu finished writing, glanced at his watch, and said, "President Ling, I'll go back and have the design institute produce a conceptual plan. It should take about two weeks. We'll discuss it further then."
"Can."
"Design fee..."
"At market price," Ling Yun said, "but I require your best team. I need to meet with the lead designer; he needs to understand my ideas."
"No problem." Sun Guofu stood up. "I'll personally oversee this project."
The two shook hands. As Sun Guofu packed his things, his phone rang.
"I'll take this call first." He walked to the window.
Ling Yun sat down and continued looking at the sketches. He was thinking about whether to make a showroom on the first floor of the main building to display Xinghuo's products; whether each R&D building should have a unique feature, such as Building A specializing in hardware and Building B specializing in software...
Just then, his phone rang.
Caller ID: US number.
He walked to the other end of the private room and answered the call.
"Mr. Ling, this is Fiona." The voice came from Silicon Valley, sounding a little urgent. "Is now a convenient time to talk?"
"Yes, please. What's up?"
"I have a friend who works at Microsoft, not in a core department, but he has access to some information," Fiona said in a low voice. "He told me at lunch today that people in Microsoft's investment department are in contact with ICQ."
Ling Yun tightened his grip on his phone.
Do you have any more specific information?
"Microsoft wants to invest, and may even acquire a stake," Fiona said. "The amount is unclear, but it should be substantial. My friend said that Microsoft is internally discussing whether to enter the instant messaging market ahead of time, rather than waiting to develop it themselves."
The private room was quiet. By the window, Sun Guofu was still on the phone, his voice very low.
"Is the information reliable?" Lingyun asked.
"My friend couldn't guarantee 100%, but he saw a summary of the internal meeting minutes," Fiona said.
After hanging up the phone, Ling Yun looked out the window and murmured, "History has changed. It should have been 1998 when AOL acquired ICQ. Microsoft wouldn't have launched MSN and entered the instant messaging industry until 1999."
Because he launched Star Language, because Star Language had voice chat and file transfer capabilities, because Star Language stole ICQ's users.
Microsoft couldn't sit still any longer; they were no longer waiting for their own MSN and wanted to get in early.
If Microsoft does invest in, or even acquire, ICQ, they will bring enormous resources to it. Browser bundling, pre-installation on operating systems, financial support... we will be under immense pressure.
"Microsoft's entry means that this field has been recognized by giants. Market attention will be higher, and user education costs will be lower." Ling Yun walked back to the table, his finger unconsciously tracing names on the sketch. "Moreover, Microsoft's style is closed and controlling. If ICQ is controlled by Microsoft, many developers and many users who dislike Microsoft will switch to Xingyu."
The once clear historical trajectory has begun to diverge.
What does Microsoft's investment in ICQ mean?
This means that the war over instant messaging will escalate ahead of schedule.
This means that Xingyu is not facing a startup, but a competitor backed by Microsoft.
This also means that every step he took was changing the course of history.
"President Ling?" Sun Guofu came over after finishing his call. "What's wrong? You don't look well."
"It's nothing." Ling Yun put away his phone. "I was thinking about something related to work."
"Shall we continue?" Sun Guofu sat down again. "We were just talking about intelligent systems. I was also wondering what your requirements are for the air conditioning? Central air conditioning or split-type?"
"Central air conditioning, but zoned control." Ling Yun forced himself to bring his attention back. "People work overtime in the R&D building 24 hours a day, so the air conditioning needs to be able to operate independently."
"Then we'll need to set up server rooms in every building..."
"set up."
Sun Guofu started taking notes again.
But Lingyun's thoughts had already drifted far away.
He was wondering how much cash Microsoft had right now.
What will ICQ's valuation be?
How will AOL react?
Should Xingyu seek funding in advance?
He needs data, analysis, and discussions with his team to find the answers to these questions.
But at this moment, he is sitting in a hotel room in Jinan, discussing air conditioning systems with a builder.
"President Ling?" Sun Guofu looked up. "Did you hear what I said?"
"I heard that." Ling Yun came back to his senses. "Central air conditioning, zoned control, with a machine room in each building."
"Yes." Sun Guofu closed his notebook. "Shall we stop here for today? I'll go back and organize the design team to come up with a plan as soon as possible."
"it is good."
The two shook hands again.