Microsoft Gun Shy over Search
October 6, 2009
Microsoft has pumped big money into its own search research and development program. In addition, the company paid $1.23 billion for the Fast Search & Technology Enterprise Search Platform. The company bought Powerset, a semantic search system that used, in part, technology from Xerox PARC. The company cut a no-cash deal with Yahoo for search. Microsoft rolled out a new Web search system called Bing.com and backed it with a payback method for users. In short, Microsoft has done many things to hobble the Google.
When I read “Microsoft’s Ballmer Says Search Buys Unlikely“, I asked myself, “Is Microsoft taking the first tentative steps toward a truce with Google?” My view has been that Microsoft would have more revenue opportunities by figuring out how to surf on Google. Microsoft’s path, however, has been to chase Google in Web search and circle the wagons in other business sectors.
If buying companies won’t allow Microsoft to narrow the 80 percent share of the search market, I am not sure how Microsoft can do much in the Web search sector. With the new version of Fast ESP slow out of the starting blocks, I wonder if Google will have the window of opportunity it needs to chew into Microsoft’s enterprise monopolies.
For me, the most interesting point is that this statement came after Bing.com market share gains began to erode. But for me, the most interesting comment in the write up was:
Ballmer also said Microsoft was freezing its research and development budget — the industry’s largest — at US$9.5-billion, partly in order to keep resources in reserve for the fight with Google.
Google’s R&D, based on my research data, continues apace.
Stephen Arnold, October 6, 2009, No dough
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