With all the paranoia and news that the NSA’s PRISM program has caused, how much trust can you place in tech companies these days? For the most part, most, if not all, tech companies have denied working with the NSA in allowing their products to be easily hacked into to gather information, but we guess there are many who remain skeptical. Well interestingly enough despite the paranoia and mistrust many are having about their favorite tech companies, a recent study has found that as far as tech companies that consumers trusted, Microsoft was at the very forefront, which the folks at Forrester who did the research admitted that it came as quite a surprise.
However they also admitted that Microsoft was “at the forefront of brand building with a unique and distinct brand identity that sets it apart from other brands.” In fact Forrester researcher, Tracy Stokes, thinks that it is due to Microsoft’s ubiquity that turned out to be its strength, which is interesting as the more paranoid individual might argue that Microsoft’s ubiquitousness should be the main reason we shouldn’t trust the company, but that’s a debate for another time. Other researchers have also backed up Forrester’s claims, such as one from UTA Brand Studio who calls Microsoft “relatable”.
“A lot of the world uses Microsoft products and people relate to it, while Apple is like a prom king or queen, beautiful but not really like us.” What do you guys think? In light of the NSA scandal, do you find yourself trusting Microsoft more than companies like Apple or Google?