Microsoft: People In Glass Houses Shouldn't Throw Stones (At Google)

There has been more chest-thumping over the past month among big tech companies that it is beginning to feel like a gorilla convention. Microsoft (MSFT) beating its chest over Yahoo (YHOO). Yahoo thumping right back and acting all tough to News Corp. (NWS) and Time Warner (TWX). Microsoft again going gorilla with Bill Gates saying "Google (GOOG) does not understand business needs," while a Google executive tosses a coconut right back and dumps on Microsoft SharePoint. But the law of the jungle is: beat your chest and scream from high trees, but only if you're the best and you've got the goods. Because if you don't, you'll get pounded.

Microsoft's got enough going on without getting into PR fisticuffs with Google. Did Bill really need to go after Google Apps at a recent SharePoint conference? Because the company has so much to be proud of these days? Consider these undiplomatic words:


Answering a question about Google's competitive threat to SharePoint, Gates said that, "Its [Google's] productivity tools do not have the features and responsiveness of ours. In terms of Google tools, the day they announced them was their best day, really. Remember Google Talk? I can hardly remember its name? It was going to change the world," Gates said to much laughter and applause.

In contrast, SharePoint was about end-users and the ability to get things done, he said.



Bill's comments are sort of, well duh. I don't think Google believes it has the holy grail today in Google Apps, but it is iterating rapidly to develop a suite of products and services that are still lightweight but with greater functionality than the current offerings. Needless to say, Google is in this for the long run, and it is a logical offshoot of their core business. Here are a few words from Scott Johnston, product manager for Google Sites:


Johnston noted that competing collaboration software products like Microsoft's SharePoint are expensive and hard to implement. "They have a ton of features but in the end, because of the complexity, you rarely get the value you need out of those features. It's a huge burden to IT. The projects to implement such solutions are unbelievable."


Interesting though that Bill and Microsoft feel sufficiently threatened to compare their heavy-weight offerings to Google's new and lightweight tools. Why else would he be getting so horsey and aggressive? Think about Microsoft's approach. They've invested $25 billion+ in Home & Entertainment. Not at all related to their core business. Look at the Zune. A direct competitor to the iPod, right? So Apple (AAPL) should be getting aggressive and talking garbage about Microsoft's lame offering, right? Hardly. Apple is focused on innovating, building brand extensions and linking together their communications and media platforms. They don't have the time to talk trash. They do their talking in the market, where they speak very loudly. Microsoft is doing a lot of their talking at conferences. But conferences don't pay the bills.

That said, Microsoft is taking a page out of the Apple play book but leveraging similar marketing strategies to create a "halo effect" around brands they wish to push:


Microsoft is working to consolidate all of its consumer-focused marketing in its Platforms and Services division. The ultimate, anticipated result: Microsoft will have a more cohesive branding story and sales approach across for PCs, phones and the Web.

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Microsoft execs have been studying how one of the masters of consumer marketing, Apple, has been able to parlay sales of iPhones and iPods into new Mac sales — a phenomenon often referred to as the halo effect. Microsoft is hoping to capitalize on similar cross-product momentum with Windows Mobile phones, Zunes and Windows PCs. To kick-start its cross-brand campaign, Microsoft recently launched a $300 million consumer-focused advertising program.

Imitation is and always has been the highest form of flattery. This makes sense, and this approach has propelled Apple to unheard-of heights in both the marketplace and in customer satisfaction. Microsoft's posture on this front: study, learn, shut up and execute. This is an approach that I recommend across all their business lines. It is exactly the same thing I tell my 10-year old son when playing sports: study the game, think, think, think, keep your mouth shut and play hard, all the time. This is what gets results. Because throwing stones seldom works, especially if you've got a pop-gun of an arm.