Oct
13
Google vs. MS II
October 13, 2005 |
Obviously, I don’t have any insider knowledge about either Google or Microsoft’s plans for the future. However, looking at the past actions of both parties, it is possible to make some guesses about their intentions.
First of all, I doubt that Google is spoiling for a fight with MS. Why would they? Microsoft’s core business is the development of operating systems and productivity software, an area Google has no real strengths in. That’s one of the reasons I think Google’s comments on OpenOffice were a threat, not a real business plan.
Google has a legitimate concern–that MS will see it as a potential competitor down the road and move to crush them, as they have done with so many others. This is an utterly reasonable fear on their part. Based on past behaviour, Microsoft probably does view Google as a potential competitor and is moving to crush them. So it’s perfectly reasonable to try and warn them off and suggest that Google has ways of hurting MS–but that’s a far cry from wanting to get into MS’s core market themselves.
Google’s brand is information–making it easy to access the things you need to know. If Google were to attack Microsoft directly, it would be at the server level, not the desktop. I can easily see a Google-branded series of corporate data storage products. Corporate intranets and information sharing is still very cumbersome. A Google-style interface, with an intelligent search across all corporate data that returned relevant results quickly? That would have real value, and that’s a space I can see Google moving into.
Google Office isn’t and doesn’t need to be part of that future–Google can work just fine with MS Office files, and the new XML-based formats will make that even easier to accomplish. What Google offers a corporation is transparency–if I’m working on a project in a large company, and I need to know who’s in charge of a policy or might be concerned with something I’m working on, today I have to ask around and hope somebody thinks to tell me that Bob in accounting needs a particular report from the existing system for some obscure but nevertheless vital purpose, or Jane in HR knows why something was originally done. With a Google portal, I can potentially type in what I need to know and find out all sorts of stuff.
Like I said, I don’t know if Google means to go there, but if they do, they will find customers. They will also find a very unhappy Microsoft, who are counting on maintaining the corporate market as one of their cash cows. Microsoft knows it would take a miracle to dislodge them from the desktop computer space, but equally that space is dropping in value. Microsoft needs to move into other spaces to stay profitable. They’ve failed in a couple–the content convergence took place without them and the console market looks set to remain Sony’s. The corporate IT market is one they can’t afford to lose.
Like I said, this is all speculation. I really have no idea if Google has plans to move into the corporate IT space. I just think they could do so and be successful there, and I also know that Microsoft would very much rather that they don’t.
Comments
What I'm Reading- Agile Requirements Information Model (4) – Subset For Agile Programs (a): Features and Feature BacklogScaling Software Agility
- The Great Implication of Context-Driven MethodologyJames Bach's Blog
- User stories versus Use CasesBusiness Analyst Blog
- Can Use Cases Possibly be Agile?Agile Product Owner (.com)
- A little bit of levity for the holidays from iRiseThe iRise Blog
- The end of reposiphilia?The Forrester Blog For Technology Product Management & Marketing Professionals
- IT ethics and the recessionIT Project Failures
- Risk Assessment ModelingEDS' Next Big Thing Blog: Read and Respond to What the EDS Fellows Say About Technology
- Test Requirements, Don't Test CodeHerding Cats
- Enterprise architecture is optionalBizRules Blog