If mantra number one at Google is “Do No Evil”; then number two has apparently been “We’re Not Going Head to Head with Microsoft”. Google may intend to be a good corporate citizen but there’s no doubt it has Microsoft firmly in its strategic sites after launching Google Apps Premier Edition for the enterprise market. Featuring online e-mail, calendaring, messaging, VoIP, a word processor and a spreadsheet, Google Apps could be an Office-killer.
Of course, there will be plenty of people will be laugh at the idea of a bunch of online services replacing the venerable Office but I look at my own growing adoption of Google services (GMail, Google Reader, Docs and Spreadsheets, Google Blog Search), and I can easily see a time when many businesses will carefully weigh the idea of Google vs. Microsoft. Another fascinating element will be price: Google is offering Apps Premier Edition for $50 per year/year – compared with the $499 that Microsoft wants to charge for Office Professional Edition 2007. Some of Google Apps early adopters include GE & PG.
It would be ludicrous to suggest Google will destroy Office because Office has such a dominate hold on the productivity suite market (anyone still using WordPerfect?) and millions of corporate employees are comfortable with Office. But Google will definitely carve out a healthy amount of market share because unlike Novell and Corel, who weren’t big enough to take on Office when they owned WordPerfect, Google has the financial muscle to go head to head with Microsoft. Google also committed to the online service markets unlike Sun, which used Open Office as strategic toy. This is going to be a fascinating dog fight.
For more, check out GigaOm, which offers up an interesting fact box about Google Apps, including the fact Google can make money by selling it at $50/year, and A View from the Isle, who wonders about relying on a hosted service.
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It’s a Young Person’s Web
Confession: I’ve never been a Don Tapscott fan – maybe because I’ve always viewed him as more of a well-polished marketer who focuses on technology as opposed to a tech guru, and maybe because I’ve been a tech “insider” for the past decade, and see Tapscott’s books, speeches, etc. as far less insightful than people who are not directly involved in the tech industry.
To me, Tapscott’s “expertise” lies in four areas: a knack for recognizing emerging trends/business opportunities (be it the Internet, Y2K, e-commerce, corporate governance and, most recently, Web 2.0); a gift for gathering information from a variety of sources and then packaging it so it’s easily digest-able by the common folk; the ability to position himself as an “expert”; and, of course, the ability to make a lot of money from the “hot new trend” through books (most of them co-authored), research studies (many sponsored by corporate clients), keynotes, etc. under the Don Tapscott brand.
That said, Tapscott is onto something with a $3.5-million research study he’s doing in a partnership with OgilvyOne on how young people (aka Generation X and Y) are using the Web, including their decisions about brands. Speaking at a conference put on today by Ogilvy. Tapscott offered some interesting insight into how young people consume media, and how the Web influences their choices, behaviour, attitudes, etc.
There’s no doubt young people have a deeper involvement with the Web than most people, although they don’t see the Web as a great technology as much as a tool to be used – much like we never saw the remote control was nothing more complicated than a tool to change channels. It’s an idea that I find fascinating and one that I’m lobbying to be part of the upcoming mesh conference agenda (we’ll see if I my efforts are successful!)
Another thing that struck me during the half-day event was the tone. By that, I mean the information about the Web was pretty basic as if OgilvyOne wanted to err on the side of caution rather than assume the audience had a sophisticated knowledge of the Web and the key trends and tools. Maybe I’m wrong but my sense is that many advertisers are still feeling their way on the Web, trying to work out the best ways to approach it (CPM, CPL, CPC, AdSense, banner ads, etc.), what vehicles to use (portals, blogs, targeted sites), and how much of their ad budgets to allocate. Given the Web only accounts for 5% of total advertising spending, it’s still early days and there’s plenty of runway left.
Update: An overview of the conference by Webwalker can be found here and here.
Technorati Tags: Don Tapscott, Ogilvy Mather
Is the Tech IPO Back?
It was somewhat startling to surf on over to Business 2.0, and see a story proclaiming: “Tech IPOs: They’re Back!”. Other than Vonage’s high-profile offering, which has subsequently bombed, there really hasn’t been many tech IPOs since the dot-com boom went bust. Maybe it’s a lack of investor appetite, maybe it’s the high cost of complying with Sarbanes-Oxley, or maybe it’s just that getting acquired by Google, et al is the end goal because it requires less work. Business 2.0 writer Michael Copeland believes the landscape is changing:
“Get ready for a tidal shift. Judging by the number of companies that have already filed or indicated that they might, 2007 is shaping up to be the biggest year for initial public offerings in the tech world since the end of the dotcom bubble in 2000.”
That’s a pretty bold statement, and not one that I would embrace given there just doesn’t seem to be that much talk or excitement about IPOs. Still, Business 2.0 has identified six potential candidates (which probably means they’re on someone’s M&A list as we speak). This list includes: Art.com, MetroPCS, NetSuite, Postini, Tellme Networks and Zappos.com. I’d be curious about other potential IPO candidates that should be on the list.
Technorati Tags: IPOs
Wireless Deals in Canada?
There’s no wireless competition in Canada, right? I mean, how often do you see the carriers lowering prices to attract new customers? How about “never”. So, I had to double-take when I heard a deal on the radio from Rogers where they will give your four free Blackberrys if you buy one. Of course, you have to pay for Blackberry service, which will cost you about $500 to $750 a month but what do you expect for four free Blackberrys. Meanwhile, Fido (aka Rogers) is running TV ads touting by-the-second billing, which is a very good thing if you’re into very short phone calls. Of course, all carriers used to have by-the-second billing until they realized it made more sense financially – because it’s all about ARPU, right? – to charge someone for one-minute call even if they only talked for 20 seconds. Now, where’s that fourth national wireless carrier to stir things up!
Technorati Tags: Blackberry, Rogers, Wireless
Maybe It’s Not the Pirates
Steve Ballmer has sized up the Vista market – less than a month after it was launched - and decided sales have already been affected by the Johnnie Depp factor (aka software pirates). You see, what’s happening is Vista is rocking in places such as China, India, Brazil and Russian to the point where demand is outpacing supply. So, the only way to satisfy the needs of consumers is selling them pirated copies of Vista. Okay, maybe that theory is probably inaccurate/fictional but Vista’s disappointing showing out of the gate does suggest the following: 1. a vast majority of PC users see no reason to upgrade; 2. more people are exploring the idea of moving to Mac (a trend that anecdotally seems to have some merit) or Linux; or 3. Vista is an upgrade so consumers are happy to wait until they buy a new PC before embracing it.
It is fascinating to see the Microsoft PR machine start spinning so soon after the launch of Vista. It’s quickly becoming apparent that it’s a good product that has little traction with consumers – at least in the short term. The trick for Microsoft is doing what it can to manage the situation with analysts, investors and consumers. The last thing Microsoft wants to see is Vista start to look like a dog even if it is better than XP in many ways. After all, perception is everything and Vista’s initial buzz ain’t that hot.
We’re Talking Tech
From the better late, than never file…another episode of Talking Tech. So, Google made yet another acquisition – this time one with Canadian roots as Google picked up AdScape, which makes technology to deliver advertising in online video games and virtual worlds. AdScape was started in Ottawa (and still does most of its R&D in the nation’s capital) but it moved its headquarters to the U.S. a couple of years ago.
Sadly, there were no Canadian VCs involved with AdScape – much like there were no Canadian VCs involved with Calgary-based iStockphoto, which was acquired by Getty Images last year for $50-million, or Voodoo Computers, which was acquired by HP. Is this a sign Canadian VCs aren’t investing in high-tech start-ups or just anonmalies?
Another mystery is whether a wireless spectrum auction being held early next year will lead to the emergence of a fourth wireless carrier to provide some competition to the incumbents – Rogers, Bell and Telus. When you think about it, there really isn’t much competition in Canada’s wireless market despite the efforts of folks such as Virgin Mobile.
Finally, we take a look at a U.S. study that suggests Blackberry users work more hours than folks who don’t carry a mobile e-mail device. As a rather undisciplined Blackberry user, the study definitely resonates with me.
