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Bonds Are a 'Safe' Investment: A Big Lie Gets Even BiggerThe one thing that I find most infuriating about Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) is how the company's executives can look people in the eye and deny the obvious.
Take the recent announcement about its plans to sell a suite of software to business customers. Doesn't that encroach on the turf of Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq:MSFT). Chief Executive Eric Schmidt artfully ducked that question when it was posed by the Associated Press. We don't operate that way," he said. "We are trying to solve very different problems."
No one believed it when he said the same thing about eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY) when Google Checkout was released. Google would probably answer the question the same way if the AP asked about what threat the bundle may pose to International Business Machine Corp.'s (NYSE:IBM) Lotus unit.
There is some truth to the statement, however, Google's software bundle, which sells for $50 a year, has nowhere near the functionality of Microsoft Office. The same holds true for Google Checkout when compared with eBay's PayPal. Google's offerings though are designed to be used instead of something else, so any talk that the company isn't in competition is laughable.
But before people start pontificating about the threat Google poses to Microsoft, a reality check is in order. Google's product development outside of search hasn't been that impressive. .
Schmidt told the AP that search engine giant priced the software so cheaply to tempt companies to give it a shot. Software doesn't sell based on price alone. Large enterprises demand bang for their buck with functionality and tech support.
Chief information officers know that you get what you pay for from tech companies. Plus, many are reluctant to allow employees to use web-based applications for security reasons.
The companies referenced In Google's announcement got something in return from the search engine giant like free service or keyword advertising. Investors should never take the statements from customers in product announcements seriously.
Schmidt told the AP that search engine giant priced the software so cheaply to tempt companies to give it a shot. Software doesn't sell based on price alone. Large enterprises demand bang for their buck with functionality and tech support.
Chief information officers know that you get what you pay for from tech companies. Plus, many are reluctant to allow employees to use web-based applications for security reasons.
The companies referenced In Google's announcement got something in return from the search engine giant like free service or keyword advertising. Investors should never take the statements from customers in featured in product launches seriously.
The threat that Google poses to Microsoft is largely theoretical at this point. Moreover, Microsoft poses a threat to Google if it ever can make headway in search. For now, both companies are going to eye each other like boxers in the ring waiting to land a knock-out punch.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
2-22-2007 @ 4:11PM
JimmyJackFunk21 said...
Regardless of whether you're using Google or not, I think the issue is more the level of privacy you have when using it, Windows or not. And unless you have a service like anonymizer.com, or the like, you don't really have any. I think that's a bigger issue; just my opinion.