David v. Goliath

“When Google arose and came and drew near to meet Microsoft,
Microsoft ran quickly toward the battle line to meet Google.
And Microsoft put his hand in his bag and took out Bing and slung it and struck Google on his forehead.”

As I think by now everyone in the world knows, on May 28th Microsoft introduced their new search engine called Bing. Formerly Live Search, Windows Live Search, and MSN Search, Bing is being advertised as a next generation online decision tool, instead of just a search engine.

What makes Bing different? If you ask Microsoft, they highlight the following features:

1. Auto-Suggest Offers intelligent alternatives for search queries
2. Instant Answers Serves up information within search results, eliminating the need to click on anything
3. Best Match Provides useful links and information for definitive sites
4. Related Searches Points to deeper information available with one click
5. Deep Links Enables easy, direct access to relevant content within a site
6. Quick View Summarizes a Web site at a glance, before clicking through to the site
7. Smart Video Preview Previews a 30-second clip of videos simply by mousing over them
8. Infinite Scroll Provides easily browsed image results without clicking to a new page
9. Quick Tabs Tailors search results with one click

But is the above a big enough sling to take down the mighty Giant?

Calling Google a Giant in the online world may in fact be an understatement. To understand the size of Google all one needs to do is look at the search statistics for the month of June as compiled by StatCounter.com. There were 336 million searches done in the United States, and Google controlled 78.48% of the market.

So why would Microsoft take on such a challenge?

Google is no longer content on being just a search engine company, they want to be the next Microsoft. Google has released online versions of email, word processing and spreadsheet applications that are direct competition with Microsoft’s flagship Office product. Google has used their financial strength to buy smaller companies such as YouTube. Google has shown no fear in taking on Microsoft by developing of a web browser to combat Internet Explorer, and a soon to be released mobile desktop operating system.

With the introduction of Bing, Microsoft is saying enough is enough. Microsoft knows that to sit back on the sideline is a recipe for failure. With Bing, Microsoft is hoping to cut into Google’s revenue stream and market share, but more importantly they want the industry and public to take notice. Microsoft wants you to know that they are a leader in the online world.

Do I think Bing will work? I am not sure, but with Microsoft’s new partnership with Yahoo it may have a better chance. I am also confident that Bing is not the only thing in Microsoft’s bag.

We invite you to share your thoughts either by commenting on this article or emailing us.

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