Search Wars – Microsoft v Google
Microsoft says it’s now taking search very seriously and plans to do battle with Google.
At the moment Google looks unassailable. It has a completely dominant market share and has so firmly embedded itself into our psyche that their name has become synonymous with search – most of us “Google” the internet in the same way that we Hoover our homes – you know what I mean.
However Microsoft has a history of coming from a long way behind to successfully overhaul and, very often, completely destroy the competition. Here are a few of the most prominent examples that I can think of:
- PC Operating System – Microsoft came from nowhere to beat a host of early PC operating systems by becoming the standard on the IBM PC.
- Windows – Microsoft implemented a GUI interface to leave Apple well behind.
- Server – Novell was once the completely dominant supplier of Local Area Network operating systems. Microsoft has totally reversed that position destroying Novell in the process.
- Office – Lotus 123, CC:Mail and WordPerfect have all been crushed by Microsoft Office.
- SQL – There were many players in the relational database market. Now in the lower and mid-market space there is really only one – Microsoft. Companies like Informix and Ingres are just distant memories.
- Web browser – Netscape was so far ahead of Microsoft that many were saying they had missed the internet and it was the beginning of the end for Microsoft. Netscape is long gone and Microsoft is completely dominant.
It’s an incredible track record and I must admit I’m envious of their ability to dominate markets and wipe out the competition with what is often an inferior product.
Microsoft plan to use a tried and tested approach – leverage their strength on the desktop.
Two new services called Mix and Web Assistant will be built into the browser in Vista within the next 6 to 9 month. Mix is intended to allow web surfers to organise search results and more easily share them. Web Assistant (and some other tools previewed at a recent show) is intended to make search results more relevant. It will use information from previous searches and data on your hard drive to determine that, for example, when you search for Michael Jordan you are in fact looking for the Berkley machine learning expert rather than the basketball player.
As usual Microsoft is in this for the long haul and is talking in terms of a ten year goal.
Would I bet against Microsoft? Google has a dominant position and it seems impossible to see how Microsoft could overhaul them, however with their track record I wouldn’t bet against them.
Best regards.
Jim Simpson
Managing Director
Ziptech Services
P.S. I usually write these newsletters a few weeks ahead of publishing. Since I’ve written this story Microsoft has proven how serious it is about search by looking at the possibility of purchasing Yahoo! Now that would be a bold move and a powerful combination.
P.P.S. At this point Yahoo! has rejected Microsoft’s approach, but given the health of Yahoo! I very much doubt it’s the end of the story.
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