Google certainly is giving Microsoft a run for its money. Simply
put, Google has become a new kind of foe to Microsoft: It has combined
software innovation with a brand-new Internet business.
In fact, Google has recently become the company of choice for many
Internet users, not only for its awesome search engine, but for
its transformation into a diversified company that finds news, images,
product prices, book excerpts, satellite maps and directions to
the corner market, as well as offering a 2-gigabyte e-mail service
(via Gmail) ... all for
free!
And while Google has been busy launching those products, Microsoft
has been scrambling to catch up in search. In fact, it has spent
about $150 million on its new search project (Underdog), but Google
keeps heaving ahead with search advancements including:
- Local-area search complete with maps and satellite photos
- Ways to search inside a video file
- Search designed for cell phones
But, what really chaps Microsoft's hide is that Google is gaining
the ability to attack the very core of Microsoft's franchise --
control over what users do first when they turn on their computers.
Will Google Surpass Microsoft?
The idea that Google will one day marginalize Microsoft's operating
system and bypass Windows applications is starting to become a reality.
Truth is, it's been four years since Microsoft has even rolled out
a piece of software that generated the kind of attention Google
seems to generate every month.
And it certainly doesn't help matters that one of the chief architects
of Windows switched sides to work for Google. As of March 2005,
roughly 100 Microsoft employees had left for its search rival.
Innovation is Key
One reason Google has been bringing out so many new or improved
products is that Google's CEO understands that innovation is the
only sure edge Google has. And that edge has certainly kept Microsoft
at bay; Microsoft's array of weapons has so far proven next to useless
against Google.
Regardless of how the battle will turn out and in whose favor it
will fall, one fact remains: Microsoft is taking longer to catch
Google than anyone could have imagined. And unless it can deliver
search that is obviously better, most users won't bother to switch.
Fortune
May 2, 2005
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