There is a lot of buzz in the media about Google turning into Microsoft. More people are willing to buy this argument because the saying comes from none other than the prophet of the personal computing industry- STEVE JOBS. Only Larry knows the actual context of the conversation and what Steve meant. But the way Steve’s lines are being perceived in the media and spread is TOTALLY WRONG. Google is relevant and growing. It shall be as far as we all can see.
Before I present my argument, let us understand why Google is different from Apple and Microsoft. About the only commonality of Google, Apple and Microsoft is that all of them are giants whose majority of the revenues come from the consumer market. Apart from that, the DNA of Google does not match with Apple’s or Microsoft’s. Google makes product, makes it freely available to the consumers. While Apple and Microsoft make products for consumers to BUY. The financial dynamics of taking a physical product to the market is COMPLETELY DIFFERENT from making a free service available online. Hence, Google can afford to be wrong more often than Apple and Microsoft and which is why Google can develop “Labs” and a few other services and then shut them down. What Google builds and shuts down is like, how Steve Jobs would put it, “We do it as a hobby” (Read Apple TV).
It is completely wrong to say that Google is facing a crisis situation as Microsoft is. The problem with Microsoft is that they are in the business of selling operating systems for desktops and laptops. While people would buy both desktops and laptops for probably 5 more years but personal computing is certainly going to be completely disrupted with the proliferation of post-PC devices-an industry where Microsoft has arrived too late. On the other hand, Google sits in a rather pretty position. People now own more devices to consume Google’s ads.
Google earns its revenues from search. Is search going to be disrupted? Hell yeah, even Eric Schmidt thinks so. He thinks that Siri will change the way people search. I agree with him. But what phone do you use? Majority of the people who are reading this blog are going to own an Android phone if they don’t already. Ding Dong. Android’s Google’s. Siri will eat into Google’s search revenues. Sure. But only a little. Majority of the people can’t use Siri because they don’t have an iPhone. They’re gonna have an android. Just as majority of the people own Windows even though Mac is way classier.
Only two things can happen here on. Either Google would make their very own Siri. Or someone else will. Now whoever does, which mobile platform do you think it will be built on? Mango is not even ripe yet. Moreover search is not Microsoft’s primary business.
I bet that Google will have an answer to Apple’s Siri on Android within a year if not sooner. As long as people are going to search or take actions on their personal computers, Google is very much in business. Healthily so.
