Microsoft Corp. may be the most recognized software company on the planet, but when it comes to searching the Internet, people are much more likely to "Google it."
Microsoft wants to change that, and it"s betting millions that someday it will be as well known for search as Google is. The software giant"s push comes amid an exponential growth in information -- on desktop computers, on online photo albums, on Web sites. "And the more information there is out there, the more difficult it becomes to find relevant information and content," said Rob Lancaster, a senior analyst with the Boston-based Yankee Group.
Searching for money
Beefing up search is a smart move for Microsoft, Lancaster said, and should strike some fear in the hearts of Google Inc., Yahoo! Inc. and other companies that offer search engines. It won"t be easy to shove those two aside, however. Danny Sullivan, editor of Search Engine Watch online newsletter, noted that Google and Yahoo have loyal followings. And several other players are also trying to grab some of the multibillion-dollar possibilities in Internet searches. IBM Corp. just announced a searching technology, called WebFountain, designed to not only find text in a variety of places online but also analyze its meaning. Still, Microsoft has a strong position currently as one of the Web"s top three search sites.