Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Google turns 11 with an eye on Microsoft (Computerworld)

A timely snapshot of Google, but I think there’s a theme more significant than the expanding Google-versus-Microsoft competitive landscape: Google and Microsoft are two companies striving to maximize the value-add (information, activity, and economic) potential of today’s Internet-centric communication, collaboration, and information management opportunities. In a classic capitalism case study, Google and Microsoft are forcing each other to focus on substantive innovation, contribute to and apply meaningful standards, and more. The short-term press/blogosphere/etc. fascination with the day-to-day competitive dynamics (e.g., event/announcement/press release choreography) is often interesting, but in many ways the competition and innovation are just getting started, and the next few years are going to be very exciting.

So, the underlying theme, from my perspective, is about maximizing what might be called *VA (for information, activity, and economic value-add) in the increasingly Internet-centric world; the fact that Google and Microsoft are both focused on the same goal is in some ways secondary.

Eleven years ago, Larry Page and Sergey Brin founded Google Inc. with a search engine and a plan. Now their company has grown into an online behemoth battling head-to-head with industry giant Microsoft Corp. while the term Google is a verb that means Internet search.

Obviously, a lot has changed for the company and its founders since Sept. 27, 1998.

Google turns 11 with an eye on Microsoft

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