i.t. matters
Tuesday, May 16, 2006 |
New York
The spectacular rise of Google in the past few years has raised questions about whether the Internet search titan is on track to dethrone Microsoft and Bill Gates as the undisputed high-tech superpower.
To meet the challenge, Microsoft is pouring billions of dollars into its most significant wave of product launches in years, including the new version of the Windows operating system called
Microsoft is also moving into growing businesses such as Internet search and online advertising, where it is trailing Google and other competitors. It is also investing on a dozen other fronts, including making the most of the early start Xbox 360 holds over Sony in the lucrative video game market.
"Today, we believe we face the largest array of opportunities for growth and innovation the company has ever seen," Microsoft chief financial officer Chris Liddell said recently.
But concerns about Microsoft’s dominance were underscored by the most recent quarterly results of the two firms.
Google reported a 60% gain in profits (to $592 million), while Microsoft’s 16.4% gain (to $2.98 billion) disappointed financial markets.
Amid fears that it is being overtaken, Microsoft has been seeking new alliances. According to the Financial Times, Yahoo Chairman and Chief Executive Terry Semel said at a
He said the groups discussed "Microsoft co-owning some of our search," but added, "I will not sell a piece of search -- it is like selling your right arm while keeping your left. It does not make any sense."
Joe Wilcox, analyst at Jupiter Research, said Microsoft is late in realizing the formula of online advertising linked to search that has been so lucrative for Google. Microsoft last week launched its MSN adCenter that seeks to mimic the Google scheme.
"Competition between Google and Microsoft isn’t new, just the increasing number of news stories, particularly following last week’s official launch of MSN adCenter," Mr. Wilcox said.
He said that "Google is to Microsoft what Microsoft was to IBM in the early 1980s," with Google more attuned to the future, moving to capture the consumer shift to more functions online.
"Google doesn’t make an Office suite, nor an operating system. Google doesn’t compete in any of Microsoft’s core desktop markets," Mr. Wilcox said. "Yet Google is at the cusp -- perhaps is the leading company -- of another computing shift." -- AFP
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