In a matter of weeks, Google has put the maneuvers on two of their largest rivals in terms of market share. Their first target was user-generated-content giant Wikipedia, which garnered a large percentage of their traffic from Google searches. Their second, much larger target is Microsoft.
Recognizing the genius of Wikipedia’s business model, Google decided to launch their own version, coining it “knol – a unit of knowledge,” and it has quickly gained market share and brand affinity due to its ease of use and immediate search engine potency.
Still, that militaristic move pales in comparison to their more recent assault on Microsoft’s Internet Explorer web browser. In a move worthy of Civil War analogy, Google made a move on two fronts: securing a three-year extension to their existing deal with Mozilla’s up-and-coming Firefox web browser and announcing the launch of their very own Chrome web browser.
It’s really quite brilliant when you think about it. By simultaneously entrenching themselves with the No. 2 browser and cleverly promoting their own offering, Google now has two legitimate avenues for stealing share of voice from Microsoft.
Is it only a matter of time before we see Microsoft bundling the Chrome browser as part of their OS offering? I think so. After all, if you can’t beat them, you might as well join them.
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Let’s not forget Google Docs (http://docs.google.com) competing with Microsoft Office, or Google’s Desktop Search competing with Microsoft’s Windows internal file search.
I’m not sure I see Microsoft bundling Chrome into Windows anytime soon. However, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Google develop their own operating system. In fact, let’s talk about that for a second.
Google has been developing all these online applications, while Microsoft would prefer these applications reside on the client side.
Now what’s been keeping software on the clients computer as opposed to running software entirely online? Well, the answer is the browser.
Browsers haven’t typically been good at running full applications. That’s why in the past, most software applications had to reside on the operating system. But now, Google has directly addressed the problem by building their own browser designed to better run full applications.
What’s left? Google developing a thin client that get’s rid of the “Windows Desktop” and replaces it entirely with a browser.
Good points, Dan!
Can’t wait to see Chrome on my Microsoft bundle
; )
I can’t wait to see IE 10 bundled with GOS (Google’s Operating System) on my future laptop.