Google Challenging Microsoft For Business Software

SternisheFan tips a report at the NY Times about the progress Google is making in its quest to unseat Microsoft's position atop the business software industry. From the article: It has taken years, but Google seems to be cutting into Microsoft's stronghold — businesses. ... In the last year Google has scored an impressive string of wins, including at the Swiss drug maker Hoffmann-La Roche, where over 80,000 employees use the package, and at the Interior Department, where 90,000 use it. One big reason is price. Google charges $50 a year for each person using its product, a price that has not changed since it made its commercial debut, even though Google has added features. In 2012, for example, Google added the ability to work on a computer not connected to the Internet, as well as security and data management that comply with more stringent European standards. That made it much easier to sell the product to multinationals and companies in Europe. ... Microsoft says it does not yet see a threat. Google 'has not yet shown they are truly serious,' said Julia White, a general manager in Microsoft’s business division. 'From the outside, they are an advertising company.'"

Comments

Re:Awful Summary

[Anonymous Coward]

Slashdot i a news aggregator for nerds and a comment forum.

Which would explain why that's its motto, right? "Slashdot: news aggregation for nerds, with a comment forum!"

It's a news site, tard. If it were just an aggregator, we wouldn't need editors. Since we have shitty summaries like this, we might as well NOT have editors, and just go reddit style, by letting the mouth breathers vote up their favorite pro-Google, pro-Bitcoin, pro-Android, or pro-RPi screed of the day.

If the editors can't do their jobs, they deserve to be criticized for it. If I don't do my job, I sure as fuck hear about it.

Re:They are an advertising company, like who else?

[Anonymous Coward]

That's awesome. Please compare for us:

1) The percentage of Google's revenues that are from advertising;

with

2) The percentage of Microsoft's revenues that are from advertising;

Here, I did it for you: Microsoft makes about 4% of its revenues from advertising, and that's generous - it falls into the "Online Services" category, and 4% would assume they made no money other than from advertising in that space. Google makes 96% of its revenues from advertising.

Microsoft is an "advertising company" like Google is a "hardware company" - that is to say, not at all.