Google Rekindling the Microsoft Fire

I like the thought in this article. Is Google the first real challenge to Microsoft since Netscape? hmm.. probably not, there have been many.

Google Rekindling the Microsoft Fire

I wrote an article about the landscape changing months ago - 'The changine search engine landscape' - it's still available at Metamend.

Since Yahoo decided to enter search as a real player, and Yahoo scooped up Overture, Inktomi, FAST, and Altavista, Microsoft has had two fronts to battle on in the search market. Google and Yahoo!

The problem for Microsoft goes so much deeper however - they make so many products, and offer so many services they have an endless supply of competitors. Are they going through what IBM did in the 80's? perhaps.

Some people, including the author of this article mention a Google product to go after Word. There's already quite a few of those.

The challenge Microsoft faces really is in their revenue model. Newer companies are basing their revenue models on advertising; look at Eudora, they make some money off people buying their software, but most people get it for free, and in exchange get some advertising. GMail is the same; free mail (just like hotmail), but the ads pay for the cost. Could someone knock off Word, Excel, and other MS apps the same way? Sure, why not?

What can MS do? Well, they could choose to go the same route. In fact, if I was in their search division, I might be preparing for that.

When MS launches their search engine, one can assume that they will also launch a tool which like google adwords and Overture PPC, allows advertisers to bid for exposure. It's only logical, and considering MS's footprint, it would be only natural.

Would taking their existing suite and making them free, with ads be illogical? No. In fact it would be smart marketing.