Many companies have tried to take on Microsoft and many have
failed, from the might of IBM with its OS/2 operating system to
Netscape and its internet browser.
Google has steadily developed a portfolio of products that seems
to make it Microsoft's biggest competitor. The
beta programme for its Chrome browser probably marks the
beginning of a new
internet browser war against Microsoft's Internet Explorer
(IE).
However, unlike Netscape, which fought Microsoft in the
mid-1990s, Google is no internet startup. The search engines, the
applications and the web components it makes, are all free, paid
for through advertising. In fact, Google has done more to change
people's perception of free software than any other company or
person, including Richard Stallman, the outspoken founder of the
Free Software Forum.
Some people will say Microsoft has the edge because its software
is embedded in the Windows operating system. But the Windows GUI is
a child of the 1990s the internet is the GUI for the 21st century
and Google is the window through which most users around the world
view the internet.
Google is here to stay. It has been
running for a decade, yet it has somehow managed to retain the
entrepreneurial and innovative spirit that created the clever
page ranking algorithm which has fuelled its astronomical
growth.
Google staff today are encouraged to try out their own personal
ideas. Clearly not every idea is a success. But Google chief
executive officer, Eric Schmidt, would rather see projects from his
staff fail quickly, than see a carefully planned, long drawn-out
project fail.
It is the idea of "skunk works", a term originally coined by
Lockheed Martin to describe highly specialised, secret projects
like the Blackbird stealth fighter.
Project Chess that created the IBM PC came about from a "skunk
works" project when IBM wanted to explore the emerging home
computing market.
Many will try to emulate Google's success, including Microsoft,
but very few, if any, will get close. However, all businesses can
take away Google's approach to innovation. This is something that
any chief information officer and IT director should start
practising, by creating a culture for innovation and encouraging
staff to try their own ideas