Locked in Battle - Microsoft, Apple, and Google

Nobody can have missed the animosity and confrontation between Google and Microsoft. Fierce competition is a good thing but I am somewhat surprised by the sustained hostility and fervor. Apple is certainly also a player and competes with both Google and Microsoft in different segments but there is just not the same kind of hostile energy when Apple is involved.

Microsoft has a huge lead in the operating system market. Google is moving into this market and is in a position to finally bring Linux to the masses. However, the primary objective is surely not to directly challenge Microsoft but rather to develop a niche and chip away the impression that Microsoft owns the operating system market. More diversity in the operating system market will certainly benefit the smaller players and not by proportional measures - the gains for smaller players will accelerate as the market is changing. Microsoft will surely remain the leader, by far, for foreseeable future but Apple's OS X and Google's forthcoming Chrome is an attempt to change the dynamic of the market by breaking what has appeared to be a Microsoft monopoly - it is not a bad game plan.

Microsoft is challenging Google in the search market and Bing is a really good effort but it lacks an edge compared with Google and the core functionality - search - is, at best, comparable to Google. Currently, there is simply not enough incentive for users to abandon Google for Bing. But Microsoft will continue to challenge Google and they have time to work on the product.

The cell phone market and portable music player (iPod) markets are equally interesting. Google's Android platform is gaining traction and it will soon appear on more phones. Microsoft Mobile is far behind. Palm and RIMs Blackberry are fading. The iPhone is such a strong concept that it will surely continue to gain in the high-end segment of the market. Apple has managed to create a community driven ecosystem in the apps market and iTunes remains in a strong position in digital music sales - it's a concept that is very difficult to copy even if the competitors will eventually catch up and even surpass the iPhone itself. Microsoft's attempt to challenge the iPod with the Zune is so far pretty far from being a seriously threat.

On the application market is Microsoft's flagship - the Office Suite - under attack from both free software with similar capabilities (foremost OpenOffice) and web based applications such as Google Apps. The latter threat is more serious because it's an attempt to change the fundamentals - from local applications to web based applications. The web based applications have not caught up yet but they're making headway and key functionality such as offline capabilities are slowly emerging. This is a fundamental threat to Microsoft and this is the wider implication of the fight in the browser market. Just like with the operating system market, the primary objective of Microsoft's competition is to defeat the dominance and change the market.

The three companies are big enough to stay in the game for a long time so it will be a long battle. It may not only prove to be a good fight and drive innovation through competition but increased friction in the three areas (search, operating systems and web applications, and hand-held devices) may accelerate the development further and create ripple effects.

Examining the Case Against Web Apps

Web based applications have been on the raise for many years and the trend is embraced without much exception. So, it's only healthy to consider the opposing point of view in Neil McAllister's piece "The case against Web apps".

The article is a five point critique of browser-based web apps:

1. It's client-server all over again.
2. Web UIs are a mess.
3. Browser technologies are too limiting.
4. The big vendors call the shots.
5. Should every employee have a browser?

Neil fails to make a convincing make the case that the drive towards web apps are fundamentally not sound - he fails on two accounts. First, many of his concerns, while valid points, are pain points and challenges in the development of web apps and not evidence of structural shortcomings in the concept. Second, he disregard the overall developments in the computer industry and assumes technology as static.

For instance, Neil points to the challenges of maintaining datacenters. It's a challenge to shoulder capacity for services with a large number of users no matter what kind of applications is used, web apps or not. The challenge of scaling computer power is something that is addressed with technology such as clustering and cloud computing. So, it's a valid point but not really an issue of web apps or not.

The author criticizes the inherit thin-client approach of web apps and points to the fact that a lot of client-side computer power is left under-utilized while the application is running on the server. The development of netbooks and smartphones contradicts the assumption that there will always be powerful client-side CPUs but the fundamental problem with this argument is an underlying assumption that web apps, as a technology, is static. I think it's likely we will see more work pushed over to the client in web apps. Actually, the modest attempts to provide off-line functionality for some web apps is actually a step in this direction.

Again, the author has a point - there are strengths to a more traditional client application architecture but it's narrow minded to assume applications would be limited to the traditional desktop application. The iPhone and G1 phones demonstrates this by using applications as a centerpiece in the customization of those devices. We can have a resurgence of applications in some contexts and it just doesn't contradict the web apps concept.

The bottom line is - the web is already a vital media channel, and all content and service providers will have to maintain some offering on the web. Consequently, moving some applications into the web space is an inherit streamlining of technology.

Looking at the big picture, one of the biggest benefits with web apps is that it provides a widespread platform allowing for new applications to emerge without the traditional barriers.