The War Of The Titans-microsoft Vs Google--by Subha Rudra

The war of the titans- MICROSOFT CORP vs. GOOGLE INC

In the battle for dominance in the world of internet and IT the two giants- Microsoft Corporation and Google INC was opened a tech battle against each other. It may be the fiercest virtual war the world has ever witness. It is the war of dominance in the world of internet may be from the battle for the web browser, to search engine, to internet application, to mobile application, to high end tech solution and to Operating system which we use in our day to day business. Until 1997-98 Microsoft Corp is the leader in the world of information technology without any significant competitor. It was dominating the search engine market with the release of MSN in 1994 and Internet explorer 4.0 in 1997. Internet explorer totally swept the market of net browser by showing doors to Netscape. Not only was this the main dominance of Microsoft in the market of operating system for computer user. The WINDOWS has created a virtual monopoly in the business of OS. Till now WINDOWS operating system has been the dominating OS all over the world. But with foundation the Google INC by Larry Page and Sergey Brin in 1998 the whole world saw a revolution in the field of information technology. The tug of war started with the rising popularity of the Google search engine among the internet user, which outshine the Microsoft’s MSN. In 2000, Google began selling advertisements associated with search keywords. The ads were text-based to maintain an uncluttered page design and to maximize page loading speed. And recently Microsoft to counter the Google search it launched BING. But still Google dominating the market with a market share of 59.8%, yahoo 21.3% and Microsoft 9.4%. So Microsoft came up with ties with Yahoo for dominating the market, which future will tell.

This urge for the dominance did not rested upto this. Google Inc today giving fight to Microsoft Corp in each step. Google launched the CHROME browser as it tool to compete the Internet Explorer of Microsoft.

Then again Google launched the Google Docs to counter the Microsoft office, with Word, Powerpoint and Excel- which is widely used all over the world and popular for its easy user interface and office solution. Google Docs recently has been growing in features and user. They provide a level of collaboration which MS OFFICE don’t offer. But majority of the world user uses Ms office and prefer the desktop to the web while editing their important document. Another field where the two giants are face to face with each other is the area of Communication, email and IM- While Google’s probably more revered for Gmail and its communication suite, Hotmail is still bigger, and Live Messenger is heavily used. Microsoft also produces the popular Outlook software and has software in a variety of arenas, such as Windows Live Meeting, giving the company an edge in the enterprise. Google has a suite of very popular communication products – Gmail and Gtalk being the best known. The X factor in this debate though, is the upcoming Google Wavecommunication platform, which has impressed us so far. There’s also the intriguing Google Voice offering to consider. Another emerging area is the area of Mobile application- Microsoft still a dominant player in this segment ruling the market with its window based mobile application platform which enables the user to run office, outlook and the media player. Windows mobile still shipped tens of millions unit last year(2008). But Google is not awy far in this segment too. Google recently launched its ANDROID mobile OS, which can run on mobile phones especially the Google maps and Google Docs. Earth Imaging is today extensively used by user all over the world maybe for exploring new places or navigating through Unknown Street in unknown place without asking for help from others. Google Earth, an interactive mapping program powered by satellite and aerial imagery that covers the vast majority of the planet. Many major cities have such detailed images that one can zoom in close enough to see vehicles and pedestrians clearly. Microsoft also came in this field with its BING MAP. Both of them are the competitor of each other. And now the most important segment where the fight between the two giants will going to change the experience of computing experience of the whole world is the war for the operating system. Operating system is the bread an butter of Microsoft. Windows is the reason Microsoft makes $60+ billion in revenue every year and has stayed on top for so long. Its stranglehold is legendary. Yet Windows Vista proved that it is not invincible. Also the launch of Window 7 OS is eagerly awaited. Now Google is working on the development of its own Operating system the GOOGLE CHROME OS , which may kill the windows.

Thus this are the areas on which the war is being waged between Microsoft and Google. Now lets have a look on the SWOT analysis of this two giant firm which may give us an idea about the future of this two firm.

SWOT analysis of Microsoft Corporation Strength

Weakness

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Flexible workforce through contingent workers for seasonal/cyclical projects Loyal, hardworking, and diverse workforce (20% minority, 26% women) who, in addition to good compensation, have an opportunity to do well financially through stock purchases. Multinational corporation operating through regional subsidiaries to minimize cultural differences in more than 60 countries New product, Neptune , is a Window's interface and is an example of smart software Relatively rapid product development processes that allow for timely updating and release of new products Revenues and profits rising at 30% a year with merger/acquisition or investment in 92 companies over past five years. Windows 95, 98, 2000 series, and Windows NT and XP are globally known as the PC desktop operating system with a market share of about 88%. World's largest software company with global brand recognition and strong reputation for innovative products.

Opportunities • •

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Cheaper global telecommunication costs open new markets as people connect to the Internet Mobile phone applications and exploitation of personal digital assistants represent a growth industry so that strategic alliances could provide Microsoft with opportunity in a market where it currently has little or no significant presence. Popularity among people for Internet access. The demand for personal computers in global markets remains strong despite the growth and increasing popularity of personal handheld devices.

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Between 1990-1995, Microsoft leadership failed to correctly anticipate the growth or popularity of the Internet Bill Gates has become Microsoft's chief software architect but has not yet developed a substantially new line of products Dependency on hardware manufacturers to pre-install Microsoft's PC operating system Reputation has suffered because of entanglement in antitrust and "permatemps" Vizcaino litigation Little or no significant presence in the wireless market and Windows CE has been disappointing Not a key player in the Internet space and few products for Internet applications

Threat •

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Recession or economic slowdown in the U.S. or global market impacts personal computer equipment sales and their need for an operating systems. Software piracy of commercial and consumer applications software on a global scale threatens revenue streams. Technology life cycle is shorter and shorter. Unix dominates high-end mission-critical applications and its customers can’t rely on Windows for this. Google is the number one threat in the current market.

SWOT analysis of Google Strength • • • • • • • • •

Multi-disciplinary. High earning from web advertisement. When it comes to web search, Google is the leader. Google's market cap, now hovering at around $132 billion, is bigger than IBM and Chevron. Google has a simple interface and it gives comprehensive results without confusing its users. Google has low operation cost as it uses low cost UNIX web servers for indexing millions of web pages across internet. Google has hired PhDs who are continuously working hard in order to enhance search algorithms and make searching faster, efficient and relevant. By 2003, Google has already powered over 75% of the 300 million searches conducted daily in the U.S. and 300 million plus outside the U.S. Google has also come up with solutions for wireless handheld devices, personalized toolbars, catalogues which are added essence strengths.

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Reach new user groups Reach new content Easy and exper search fully integrated using OpenURL Higher usage of valuable (expensive) content Google has a war chest of $7.6 billion for doing whatever it pleases.

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Heterogeneousness of the material. Content is arbitrary. Risk of dead-ends (users find the citation, but can't access the full text). Absense of any fully functional non web office appliacations like the MS Office. Many spammers manipulate Google’s ranking technology by creating dummy sites with thousands of links to pages that they wanted Google to rank highly.

Threat • MSN is coming up with its new

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operating system called “Longhorn” which would be having “implicit query” feature. Longhorn search will be able to search the web, blogs, news sources, hard drive files, email plus attachments all from a keyword search without a browser. Possibility of censorship. Competition from Yahoo, MSN (Ad Center)

Thus all this shows how intense the fight for the dominance is going through the world of Information technology world. Mankind has came a long way from its early primitive days in jungle and caves to the modern world of hi-tech software and artificial intelligence system. From education , to business, to health etc technology has always been used as a mode of reaching the desired goals. So this war of

getting dominance on one above the other Microsoft and Google is trying to develop extra edge by developing innovative business plan and technology which will change the way we see the virtual world of information and technology.