Google Growth and Competition
I read through the many Google news articles of the day, and they’re all saying the same thing:
Google is growing uncontrollably large, and they’re competing more and more with Microsoft.
FT.com said that Microsoft is moving into Google’s space. Bill Gates believes the future of software is in the web, and they’re working on Windows Live and Office Live as proof to that. The main source of revenue continues to be online advertising, currently at $15 billion, expected to become $150 billion in 10 years. Mr. Ozzie says: “It’s a big number, but it’s not unreasonable.”
CNN Money called Google the $400 gorilla, with its stock approaching $400 per share (currently $379.68). I don’t see Google as being worth that much. Sure, there’s a lot of good stuff coming out of the company, but my recent experience shows that Yahoo is beating Google in search. That translates to more success in the long term. Nobody knows that Google will do in the future.
CoolTechZone.com said Google is preparing to tackle Microsoft in multiple arenas, including search and office applications. Google has joined with companies that hate Microsoft, and justifiably so: Sun and IBM. A web-based Word processor can’t be far behind. Google Base, anyone?
CNET News.com said that Microsoft and Google’s battle is to win the hearts of developers, a concept that I believe is key and should be kept in mind. Innovation flourishes on open platforms; the freedom of developers to improve a company’s products is definitely important for the company’s long-term viability.