Microsoft and Yahoo! What will it mean?
Rating: Y! becomes M!
By Bena Roberts
At the tail end of last year, I had some private conversations with Microsoft employees. Senior executives have been polite but afraid to really open up to me; as I feel corporations remain slightly nervous about talking to bloggers. So, I approached Microsoft employees via this blog. Employees that had signed up for the newsletter and asked for a “candid” chat on mobile search.
Not trying to sound cloak and dagger – I did realise quite quickly that Microsoft was “very committed” to mobile search. Teams of people were currently on mobile search courses and investment was on the agenda.
After these conversations, I expected some form of acquisition. But first FAST and then Yahoo! Both have taken me by surprise.
Surprise, not because they are not both a good catch – but surprise as I have to question the strategy.
In 2005, Microsoft bought what I can only describe as a superior mobile search company. In fact, it was a briefing with Motion Bridge in 2004 that started my hunger for search and advertising and a major reason why I wanted to focus on search.
In short, I was blown away with Motion Bridge. The company had a killer user interface and I saw huge potential.
But today is Microsoft a leader in Mobile Search? (In case you don’t know the answer to this – it’s no).
MotionBridge’s class has gone. Microsoft has unfortunately killed it.
So FAST was in trouble and has the enterprise edge – it was a clever move by Microsoft to buy it.
But Yahoo!?
By purchasing Yahoo! Microsoft is buying its way into the leadership of search and mobile search. Its winning an amazing quality advertising programme. I know the rates of mobile advertising campaigns and I have run several. As a very late starter Microsoft is not pulling in the $$ online or mobile with advertising.
Integrating Y! could be way for Microsoft to build a superior ad-sales network.
In terms of search, oneSearch is very good. Having tested all the offers, I would raise my hand and argue that the pure mobile search feature is one of the best available today. So if mobile is the key, rebranding oneSearch to mSearch (please notice that I didn’t say live here – as live is crap and Microsoft should focus on a new brand and new name then keep trying to invent what can only be called rubbish) and integrating the FAST mSearch platform might make it superior.
If you do a search on live now online compared to Google or Yahoo! Its clear that Microsoft is indexing social networking first it’s emphasising the results on 2.0. I like this, but it’s actually not what I want. I want answers and not necessarily to find “similar” or “new” content. I have to say I think this is the missing link with Microsoft at the moment.
On top of that. Microsoft has been useless at influencing mobile operators and getting on portals (apart from with Orange). More importantly, it wants to buy two companies that also has a poor track record of attracting operators (FAST and Yahoo!). If Microsoft wants to be successful in search, it should stop buying and start employing ex-operator employees in order to get back into the operators. This would benefit the company more at the moment to raise the presence.
I am going to think about this for a more detailed analysis – but Microsoft seems to be hungry for search and advertising and social networking but being hungry is not enough. On top of that who on earth is going to manage the acquisitions?
I think Microsoft is moving too quickly for its own good. I saw some real benefits with FAST in the lucrative enterprise sector. Also new Japanese mobile search engine makes Microsoft an overnight entrant and leader in Japan.
But – it’s all a bit of a whirlwind and the fact that Microsoft has killed Motion Bridge makes me a bit nervous.
On top of all of this – companies with little or no experience in different business are saying or claiming to be things that they are not. I have to say – its getting a bit boring.
3 is a media company. Nokia is an Internet company. Google is an operator (my words not from Google) and Microsoft is a bit of everything else. I am only using this example to show how fast things are changing and to highlight that it takes more than a name change or acquisition to actually “become”.
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