Thalasar Ventures

Microsoft revised its search engine Bing, and increased more social search content, it is believed that Microsoft this is a important action to challenge Google in social searching market especially in the future.

We had know that Microsoft and Google has been old rivals in the search market, but its searching online department had been in the loss state, many years, billions of dollars are cost, but the strategy of Microsoft in the searching market is main to grab market share, see from now, Microsoft Bing market share plus the search market share cooperate with yahoo before, has been close to 30%, seem to have reached the goal Microsoft set in the search market share before, but compared with Google, gap exists. And when social networking is becoming mainstream in the Internet, Microsoft cooperated with Facebook, Twitter, expect to add more social data to improve and enhance the searching competitiveness with Google. Even so, in my opinion, it still has been variable whether Microsoft can challenge Google in the searching market.

Just after the revision of Microsoft Bing, the industry thought Microsoft will give his Bing search business transferred to Facebook, the reason is that Bing have been unable to profit for many years, and if Facebook want to compete Google in future, it must access to the searching market, to this, there has been no a positive answer. The so-called no smoke without fire, although the speculation, but at least we can see that in Microsoft there are different view for Bing in the future. And this kind of different views will affect the development of future Bing.

In addition, from the latest earnings of Microsoft, Microsoft Bing of online department is still in a state of losses, but losses already in stable state than before, but according to the analysis says, this may because Microsoft  reduce the input to Bing, and not because the increase of the competition and profitability of Bing. This may be one of the reasons that lead to the rumers above.

If the phenomenon above reflects is Microsoft is not sure about Bing, see from the outside, yahoo will give crucial influence to Microsoft Bing in searching market. Recent Microsoft resale the patent bought from AOL to Facebook and support Facebook to deal with yahoo’s litigation, the friendship between Microsoft and Yahoo is in troubles. But, there are rumers before, yahoo may choose to cooperate with Google, if that was the case, Bing will once greatly behind Google, but currently, Bing of only about 15% of market share, there is no threat to Google. So, the future how Microsoft will deal with the relationship between yahoo is very important.

I don’t deny that Microsoft Bing join social search, especially cooperation with Facebook, to improve the competitiveness of its own role, but for Google, the help its social network service Google + give to Google also can not be ignored. The momentum of development current look pretty good. one important point, the  risk is much smaller that Google get social data with its own strength..

The last is in the mobile searching market, Google occupy obvious advantage, and the mobile search is gradually replace traditional desktop search. But in mobile, compared with Google’s Android, the difference of Microsoft’s mobile platform (or system) is big.

To sum up, I think that, though the revision of Microsoft Bing enhance the competitive ability, but to challenge Google, their own and objective market environment is still a lot of variables, how to confront and deal with these variables, might not just simple in technology and product.