05-27-2009, 12:42 PM
The Channel Wire
May 27, 2009
Microsoft's biggest advantage as it brings its new Kumo search engine to the market is not the technology, but Microsoft's size and marketing muscle.
Kumo, the code name for the follow-on to Microsoft's Live Search, is scheduled to be released Thursday under the Bing moniker at the All Things Digital conference in San Diego. Lost in all the technical minutiae (improved user interface functionality, more relevant searches based on custom preferences, etc.) is Microsoft's ability to shift share by throwing around its financial weight and political muscle.
Last time I looked Microsoft was three times the size of Google (Microsoft weighs in at more than $60 billion compared with Google's $21.7 billion). Microsoft also has tens of thousands of partners that are actively selling Microsoft products and a no-holds-barred hosting and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) strategy that those partners are bringing to the market.
The simple fact is that technology leadership has never been Microsoft's strong suit. Microsoft's secret sauce is its marketing savvy and its persistence. And nowhere is that marketing savvy and persistence going to be brought to bear in a more vigorous fashion than with Kumo.
The blogosphere is filled this week with the buzz around new search capabilities and features that could see the light of day in Kumo, but Microsoft's trump card in the battle with Google is, as I stated before, its financial wherewithal and, to put it more nicely, its political muscle (aka ruthlessness) as it moves to grab a bigger piece of the search pie.
Remember, there were few people who believed Netscape was invincible until Microsoft focused all its guns on blowing the onetime browser pioneer out of the water. Now Netscape is a footnote in computing history.
Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying Google is doomed to become a footnote in computing history. But Google's strengths have always been overblown in the mass hysteria that is the Google search engine. Google has not rewritten the laws of physics or the immutable principles of capitalism.
If computing history has proven two things, it is never discount the ability of a market leader to fall under the weight of its own success and neverââ¬âabsolutely never"discount Microsoft's ability to become a market force in whatever it chooses to do.
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, the all-out fiercest competitor of any CEO in any business, is intensely focused on getting a bigger piece of the search pie and he is going to use some of Microsoft's endless pile of cash and political power to make deals that pay off in higher search market share.
Katherine Egbert, an analyst for Jefferies & Company, put out a research note on Tuesday stating that Microsoft is likely contemplating a partnership to boost its Kumo search prospects. Egbert said Microsoft has registered a Limited Liability Company (LLC) in Delaware, which she called "a move often made a week or two in advance of acquisitions or joint ventures."
Microsoft is not contemplating a partnership to boost Kumo. It is contemplating many, many partnerships. And many of those partnerships will come to light over the course of this year and next.
And remember, Ad Age already has reported that Microsoft is poised to launch an $80 million to $100 million advertising campaign to promote Kumo. My bet is that number is conservative given all the pieces of the software giant that are going to be leveraged to propel Kumo into the market. Look for more than a few Windows 7- Kumo connections.
Also look for those tens of thousands of partners that make money when they sell Microsoft software and services to be put to good use to evangelize (read sell) Kumo. This business is about making money. And no one has made more money in the history of computing for itself and its partners than Microsoft.
Ultiamtely, Microsoft's biggest Kumo advantage is its Sumo wrestler size and marketing savvy compared to Google's featherweight class wrestler status in both those categories.
http://www.crn.com/retail/217700323;jses...0CJUNN2JVN
May 27, 2009
Microsoft's biggest advantage as it brings its new Kumo search engine to the market is not the technology, but Microsoft's size and marketing muscle.
Kumo, the code name for the follow-on to Microsoft's Live Search, is scheduled to be released Thursday under the Bing moniker at the All Things Digital conference in San Diego. Lost in all the technical minutiae (improved user interface functionality, more relevant searches based on custom preferences, etc.) is Microsoft's ability to shift share by throwing around its financial weight and political muscle.
Last time I looked Microsoft was three times the size of Google (Microsoft weighs in at more than $60 billion compared with Google's $21.7 billion). Microsoft also has tens of thousands of partners that are actively selling Microsoft products and a no-holds-barred hosting and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) strategy that those partners are bringing to the market.
The simple fact is that technology leadership has never been Microsoft's strong suit. Microsoft's secret sauce is its marketing savvy and its persistence. And nowhere is that marketing savvy and persistence going to be brought to bear in a more vigorous fashion than with Kumo.
The blogosphere is filled this week with the buzz around new search capabilities and features that could see the light of day in Kumo, but Microsoft's trump card in the battle with Google is, as I stated before, its financial wherewithal and, to put it more nicely, its political muscle (aka ruthlessness) as it moves to grab a bigger piece of the search pie.
Remember, there were few people who believed Netscape was invincible until Microsoft focused all its guns on blowing the onetime browser pioneer out of the water. Now Netscape is a footnote in computing history.
Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying Google is doomed to become a footnote in computing history. But Google's strengths have always been overblown in the mass hysteria that is the Google search engine. Google has not rewritten the laws of physics or the immutable principles of capitalism.
If computing history has proven two things, it is never discount the ability of a market leader to fall under the weight of its own success and neverââ¬âabsolutely never"discount Microsoft's ability to become a market force in whatever it chooses to do.
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, the all-out fiercest competitor of any CEO in any business, is intensely focused on getting a bigger piece of the search pie and he is going to use some of Microsoft's endless pile of cash and political power to make deals that pay off in higher search market share.
Katherine Egbert, an analyst for Jefferies & Company, put out a research note on Tuesday stating that Microsoft is likely contemplating a partnership to boost its Kumo search prospects. Egbert said Microsoft has registered a Limited Liability Company (LLC) in Delaware, which she called "a move often made a week or two in advance of acquisitions or joint ventures."
Microsoft is not contemplating a partnership to boost Kumo. It is contemplating many, many partnerships. And many of those partnerships will come to light over the course of this year and next.
And remember, Ad Age already has reported that Microsoft is poised to launch an $80 million to $100 million advertising campaign to promote Kumo. My bet is that number is conservative given all the pieces of the software giant that are going to be leveraged to propel Kumo into the market. Look for more than a few Windows 7- Kumo connections.
Also look for those tens of thousands of partners that make money when they sell Microsoft software and services to be put to good use to evangelize (read sell) Kumo. This business is about making money. And no one has made more money in the history of computing for itself and its partners than Microsoft.
Ultiamtely, Microsoft's biggest Kumo advantage is its Sumo wrestler size and marketing savvy compared to Google's featherweight class wrestler status in both those categories.
http://www.crn.com/retail/217700323;jses...0CJUNN2JVN