GoogleDoubter

Google, Trust and the Marketplace

The problem with search is that Google owns the ecosystem and nobody outside of Google has a say in what happens within that ecosytem. Evil?, maybe...maybe not!

Google Extends Its Web Search Lead

When does the Deptartment of Justice look into questions of monopoly? What market share does GOOG need to have to prompt an investigation? 65 %....no. 75%...closer! 80%...very close. 85% or more...yes!

Personally, I think Google search has earned every percentage of market share they receive.

But search still funds all other Google operations because they can't make profits on anything else.

Is Online Search Microsoft's Vietnam War?

Microsoft has lost the search war(s) to Google. The larger battle between the two giants is not search but the desktop, via word processing, spreadsheets, et al.

In the war of the desktop, Google is at a disadvantage in a bunch of way via Google Apps. The folks at Google have given hundreds of thousands of FREE versions of Google Apps and now most firms won't pay money for the service.

The worst part in the war of the desktop for Google is they suck at customer service because Google doesn't like talking to people. Just try and find ANY customer service phone number for Google on their web site.

There is no published customer service phone number for Google.

There isn't a software company with at least $10M in sales that doesn't publish tech support and customer support phone numbers on their web site.

Google also screwed the handsome revenue stream of Postini, an aquisition made just one year ago.

Google may own search, but they suck at making $$ on everything else.

Google may have the brightest people on the planet within their search team, but Google Enterprise is managed by a bunch of idiots.

Does Google Have a Weakness Microsoft Can Exploit?

MSFT has a lot to worry about with Google's search business. MSFT has nothing to worry about with Google Apps in the enterprise desktop market. Let Google win the search battles because they cannot find the right way to win the heart and soul of either small or large businesses. Google doesn't like to talk with business customers and this will be the ultimate downfall for GOOG.

Nobody wants to use products from a company that doesn't have a published customer service phone number to talk with 24/7/365.

Google has no customer service, period!

How Microsoft Could Kill Google on the Web

MSFT may be worried about GOOG in the search arena.

But MSFT shouldn't worry about GOOG in the much larger enterprise market.

GOOG has K-Mart level customer service and support while MSFT has 40,000 loyal resellers and 100M registered users of MSFT products just in North America that give customers Nordstrom level service.

If GOOG cannot both improve customer service and support while spreading revenue across multiple product lines, it will always be the one trick pony.

Google Docs Inches Offline (Finally); Threat to MS Word

Google is not at all ready for prime time when it comes to entering into the commercial business applications arena. At this point in time, MSFT really has nothing to worry about with Google taking any significant market share away from MSFT.

Let me give you an example. Google purchased Postini in July 2007 for $625M. In February, Google published new list pricing for Postini services that were some 75% less than current customers paid for their Postini services. Google offered no price protection to customers (many very large corporate customers were pissed off). Google alienated hundreds of Postini resellers by not consulting and not rolling out the new pricing in a manner consistent with customer service and customer protection.

Furthermore, Google failed to understand how this pricing impacts everyone up and down the foodchain and Google said that it doesn't care about the impact of any of their decisions.

To make matters even worse, Google is posting pricing on it's web site that has NO TELEPHONE or EMAIL TECHNICAL SUPPORT and Google doesn't bother to mention this fact to prospective customers.

In other words, Google is now dangerously on the cusp of being given the moniker of NON-RELIABLE BUSINESS PARTNER.

It is painfully obvious that Googlers have no experience in dealing with real customers who use their services as a mission critical part of their business infrastructure.

Google took a Rolex product and is now selling it as a Timex.

I thought Googlers were smart. I was wrong.