Filed under: Products and services, Google (GOOG), Microsoft (MSFT), Apple Inc (AAPL)
The Wall Street Journal is out with a story today shedding a little more light on Google’s (NASDAQ: GOOG) online storage plans. The WSJ article claims hat the search giant is planning on launching an online storage service in the next few month to enable users to store documents, pictures, and music on Google’s servers. Google already provides some level of storage via its image hosting service, Picasa, and Google Docs, Google’s online stab at competing with Microsoft’s (NASDAQ: MSFT) Office Suite.
The rumored Gdrive is one step closer to reality. This will probably be a two-tiered service with a free version and a premium version for which users will have to pony up some money. Don’t look for this to provide short-term meaningful revenues for search behemoth. Something more important, though, is happening.
As I’ve written about previously, Google is certainly gunning for Microsoft, though they are not taking on Mr. Softie straight-on. Instead, Google is trying to take over the desktop from the application-level, using search and other applications to gain control of the user experience. Desktop search allows users to search their computers with the same great functionality and usability as they search the web.
And that’s really where Google’s got game. The line that divides the hardware that sits on my desk (or my lap, for that matter) and the environment on the web where I spend most of my time is being blurred. Light, small applications run on my desktop but much of the computing processing is happening on Google servers.
My documents are hosted at Google, published online, and shared with my colleagues. Gmail enables me to open documents directly into Google Docs, without ever having to download a file. I can access most of this stuff when I’m at work, at home, or on the go via my mobile device.
This, in my humble opinion, strikes at the heart of Microsoft. The software powerhouse is a great software shop in its guts. It writes code, it builds software packages, and it distributes it via distribution channels. Google is becoming more and more a lifestyle product, giving me what I need/where I need it, via an Internet browser and tying it all together by helping me locate data I need and organize the information I possess.
Zack Miller is the Managing Editor of IsraelNewsletter.com and a former equity analyst for a leading multinational hedge fund. Author holds a long-term position in Google.
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