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While landing Nokia as a partner for Windows Phone a few months ago was a huge win for the platform, it's clear that Microsoft still has its work cut out for it if it wants to gain a solid foothold in the ultracompetitive world of mobile operating systems. There are plenty of things they can do to improve the OS itself and to better market it, but if they really want to win in mobile they need to accept that we live in a multiplatform world now. And it's not just that there are multiple platforms duking it out for supremacy, it's that the average consumer is using products from multiple platforms. So while five or ten years ago Microsoft could probably get away with trying to get everyone into its silo, they need to adapt to this new reality where someone might use a PC running Windows 7, a phone running Android, a PlayStation 3, and a tablet running iOS. It's important for Microsoft to cater to this reality and how its platforms, products, and services interact as part of an ecosystem that they can't control.

Here are some suggestions for what Microsoft could do:

1. Bring Zune to iOS and Android

Now because of the DRM involved it's pretty much impossible to bring Zune's all-you-can-eat downloads to any non-Microsoft OS, but there's no reason why Microsoft couldn't offer the streaming component of its music service to other platforms. In fact, they really need to do this if they want Zune to get anywhere near the critical mass it needs if it's going to start being a selling point for Windows Phone. Think of it this way: if you're thinking of signing up for a music streaming service, you're probably looking at Rhapsody or Rdio or Spotify or MOG rather than Zune. Why? Because those services don't just work with whatever it is you already own, they're also likely to work with products you might buy in the future. Zune only works on Microsoft stuff, and, while it's great that you can access it on PCs, Xboxes, and Windows Phones -- that's no small ecosystem -- you're out of luck if you use an iPod touch or an Android phone. If Zune worked on the iPod touch it might be easier to convince someone to buy a Windows Phone, since they'd already have a subscription that worked on that device. It'd also encourage more people who might already own an Xbox or Windows Phone to sign up since it'd expand the options for enjoying their subscription.

2. Bring Gmail to Windows Phone

Yes, I know that Windows Phone's email client already supports Gmail through ActiveSync, IMAP, and POP3. What I'm suggesting is that Microsoft create a kick-ass Gmail app similar to the one that comes with Android. Why? Because Android's superior Gmail support is one major reason why a lot of people use Android phones and having a great Gmail app would lower that barrier to people switching to Windows Phone. It'd also help broadcast Microsoft's general willingness to embrace the products and services that people already use rather than expect them to switch entirely to Microsoft's offerings. It'd probably also really bug Google.

3. Buy Skype

Despite being colossally neglected during the years eBay owned it, Skype has somehow managed to stay on the top of the VoIP and video calling heap. Buying Skype would be expensive, but it'd also give Microsoft a huge installed base of users upon which to build a communications platform that integrates voice, messaging, and video. I know that Skype is coming to Windows Phone at some point (probably later this fall), but the trick isn't just to offer Skype, it's to make it so good on Windows Phone that it can effectively replace your regular voice service while also integrating video and instant messaging. Skype is used by so many people on so many different platforms that it's almost the epitome of this new multidevice, multiplatform world I'm talking about. Of course, the carriers might not love Microsoft baking Skype into Windows Phone -- they've always felt a little uneasy about Skype -- but eventually voice will be treated as just another data stream and there will be no reason for it to be treated any differently than any other app (though again, the carriers will fight this for as long as they can). Google, Apple, and Microsoft are all edging towards this in different ways, but buying Skype would help Microsoft move a long way down the field when it comes to mobile.

4. Bring Office to iOS and Android

This one is probably the least likely to happen of all my suggestions, and I'd give a lot of props to whomever at Microsoft is brave enough to suggest this to Ballmer. Office is a cash cow for Microsoft, and even though it's sort of under attack by Google Docs, it still generates billions for the company. Microsoft already does a version of Office for Macs, so why not create versions for iOS and Android? I mean, Apple's selling tons of copies of Numbers, Pages, and Keynote for the iPad. My guess is that Microsoft thinks of Office as something of a killer app that will lure potential users -- especially enterprise users -- over to Windows Phone (and whatever the tablet version of Windows 8 ends up being), and that businesses that rely on Office will end up going with the platform that supports it best, and offering an iOS version will cannibalize sales of Windows Phones and Windows tablets. That's the old way of thinking. Instead of locking in customers, Microsoft is actually locking them out and creating a giant opportunity for its competitors to offer alternatives that do work on the mobile platforms users are adopting. If Office isn't something that people can use everywhere, eventually that'll start to impact sales of Office on Windows itself. Google gets this, and that's why they made sure to introduce a version of Google Docs optimized for mobile browsers. It's pretty rudimentary now, but eventually it'll be good enough for most people. Microsoft is basically just leaving money on the table right now, I have no doubt they could sell millions of copies of Office for iOS and Android, and probably charge a nice premium for it too.

Will they actually do any of this? Probably not, but even if it seems counterintuitive at first, I don't believe that bringing Microsoft apps and services to other platforms hurts sales of Windows PCs and Windows Phones. Users are smart, and more and more when they sign up for streaming music and video services they're taking into consideration which ones will work across the products and platforms they use. Netflix has been the master of this game, and figured out early on that they needed to be platform-agnostic and try and get Netflix on every screen everywhere, regardless of OS. Given the choice, I think most people would pick the platform that works across the range of devices they use. That's all fine and good if you only use Apple or Microsoft products, but users are increasingly omnivorous when it comes to this stuff and they are going to expect to be able to access their content anywhere. One of the funny things about the world we live in now is that the way to make it easier to come to your platform is to make it easier for them to leave.