About two weeks ago, Microsoft did something that sent ripples through the web community: They re-launched their search engine (previously known as Windows Live Search) as bing.com. A $100 million US ad splurge followed, encouraging users to “bing and decide”.
This is much more than a simple re-branding exercise, however. Bing is seen by many as the last roll of the dice for Microsoft. Their flagship software product, Windows Vista, was several years late and received a bad press about sluggish performance, even on high-performance PCs. Other key areas of Microsoft’s business have come under attack, too. Internet Explorer once held over 80% of the browser market, now, it’s closer to 40%. Free and open source alternatives are gaining popularity.
Worst of all for Microsoft however, is the dominance of Google. It bestrides the search engine sector like a colossus. Of all searches on the web, 60% are performed on Google and only 6% on Microsoft websites. Google has also has made in-roads into another of Microsoft’s flagship products, Office, with a web-based alternative: Google Docs and Spreadsheets.
The fact that bing is now the default selected search engine for anyone using a Microsoft product or website means that it will gain a similarly default market share, though whether it can build on this to overtake Google is open to debate.
When Microsoft announced its “Windows Live” strategy, it was major change of strategy. Rather than just concentrating on desktop software, Microsoft would seek to secure its future on the web, eventually with a view to moving its desktop software there. However, it needs a concrete market share as a platform to do this and with Windows Live Search falling short of the mark and a failed attempt to buy market share by taking over Yahoo!, bing is seen by many as a last, some might say, desperate shot for Microsoft to take any kind of stake in the future of the web.
Tags: bing, browsers, Google, Microsoft, search engines
