Focus on Search

Google's announcement overnight that it intends to take on Microsoft in the OS market, comes as no real surprise. It was interesting to note that Microsoft's share price stood steady.

One might expect Steve Ballmer to become defensive and invest more heavily in Windows 7.0 development. That would be a mistake. Bing is already beginning to make an impression on Google's search numbers in the States. And with FAST Search being integrated into SharePoint and no doubt further Microsoft apps in the future, this is where I believe the battle lines are really drawn.

My own take is that Microsoft has finally begun to work to a search roadmap that will lead to positive results. Acquiring search market share back from Google is now therefore back in Microsoft's own hands. Deploying significant resource in Google's own backyard might just be the strategy to offset last night's news from Mountain View.

Bing

I've bookmarked Bing.

Support the small guy. That's my mantra. (A US 12% market share is small - even if the owner isn't)

I am still working through some of the search functionality. I want to determine if the owner has used any of the really valuable search IP it has acquired in the past 12 months: namely PowerSet and FAST. Both acquisitions have in my view accelerated Microsoft's move to the smart end of contextual and enterprise search. And at the fraction of the cost of the expected Yahoo acquisition.

Copying Google is not the way forward. Improving on the search and user experience is. PowerSet and FAST both provide that opportunity. I am just trying to figure out what they might have added to Bing.

[Updated: An interesting related story I read on Reuters following this posting. It's all about timing, they say!]

'Microsoft Corp is willing to invest up to 10 percent of its operating income in its Internet search business for up to five years', Chief Executive Steve Ballmer said on Thursday, as its "Bing" search engine starts to gain ground with Web surfers.

Bing -- part of Microsoft's perennially money-losing online services unit -- has been winning market share from rivals, according to industry data released this week, but still trails market leader Google by a long way.

"Our shareholders, I told them we were willing to spend 5 to 10 percent of operating income for up to five years in this business, and we feel like we can get an economic return," Ballmer told a business lunch in Chicago, without elaborating on the timeframe.'

Now that's serious money.

Powerset and Microsoft

I had expected to read rather more than I have done over the past few days about Microsoft's acquisition of Powerset last week.

Whilst there has been much media speculation about Microsoft's strategy towards Yahoo!, there does not appear to have been as much focus on Microsoft's own developing search strategy. Their recent acquisition of FAST Search together with last week's purchase of Powerset actually positions Microsoft towards the forefront of contextualised and semantics search. It is clearly developing a technology base that looks beyond the Yahoo! story. I think this strategy is right.

Why spend tens of billions of dollars on Yahoo! when the company has the ability to develop next generation search technologies using its own (post acquisition)resources? The speed it is now beginning to engage in this space should surprise no-one. I expect more of the same in the next few months.

FASTForward 08

I had expected to depart Auckland today for FASTForward 08. It is being held in Orlando, Florida over the next three days.

Pingar's nomination to present at the UK Technology, Innovation and Growth Forum in London next month has changed all that. John Beer, my UK Pingar partner, is traveling to Florida instead.

It is a fact that few truly international technology conferences are held in New Zealand. It does mean that NZ ICT businesses need to go that 'extra mile' when compared to competitors in countries such as the UK or the US. Global engagement demands an NZ presence at such conferences. This is one significant aspect Pingar's planned entry and expansion into the UK market will address.

FAST + Microsoft = Yelp

I have just checked my own postings and cannot believe that I have not blogged about Microsoft's offer for FAST Search last week. It must be the cold.

For me, this has been a marriage waiting to happen. I know both companies pretty well and the synergies they offer each other are pretty clear. It is the implementation of the core technologies though that will really stir the enterprise market.

Right now, Microsoft's enterprise app of the moment is SharePoint Server. Licenses are flying out of the window by all accounts and it is establishing itself as a key enterprise platform. The integration of the FAST enterprise search platform into Sharepoint Server (if this is indeed what happens) will make Sharepoint Server, the killer enterprise app.

Microsoft's $US 1 billion+ offer is now going through a due diligence process and is not expected to be concluded until the second quarter 2008. Watch this space and see this acquisition shine. It really is that big.

Trade Shows 08

As we approach the end of the year, I am beginning to think about the key Trade Shows that Pingar needs to attend in 2008.

The first 'cab off the rank' is FASTForward 08 in Orlando, USA in February. The industry's largest business and technology conference dedicated to search-driven innovation, FASTforward '08 features business tracks that spotlight search technology in a variety of industries including media, entertainment, and communications; retail; advertising; financial services; and government.

Pingar deploys the FAST ESP platform to drive the contextualisation search technology that helps deliver Pingar's dynamic reports. It is appropriate then that FASTForward 08 is the first key Trade Show that I will be attending in '08.

Looking ahead, there are a number of other Trade Shows which I think Pingar should attend. As we roll out our technology across global markets, these events will form a key focus of our market development strategy.

FAST Facts

I blogged last week about Pingar's relationship with FAST, the global leader in Enterprise Search.

On Friday, I received a letter from John M. Lervik, CEO of FAST. In it, John confirmed FAST's support and engagement for Pingar's global launch. John is based in Europe.

It is important for NZ ICT companies to develop global partnerships. In isolation, we focus on 'Export'. That is not a long-term strategy for success. ICT is a global business and NZ ICT businesses must engage at this level. If we don't, then we will fail to commercialise at a global level, the innovation and creativity we are so effective at.

FAST Forward

I can finally reveal the outcome of several months of negotiation. Pingar has penned a deal with FAST Search, the leading Enterprise Search platform.

For Pingar, this represents a major development in our own Platform development. FAST think the same. You can read their Stock Exchange Announcement about the deal here.

Now that it is in the open, I will be blogging on a regular basis about how Pingar and FAST will be working together to market the Pingar platform to the global market. This represents just the first step in a significant and evolving relationship. It is exciting times ahead.