Google Spreadsheet: A Disruptive Part Of A Saturation Attack on Microsoft
In all the Google Spreadsheet hype, two posts I read really summed up what I think is really going on.
Jennifer Rice of Mantra Brand Consulting points out that GS is a classic disruptive technology–a good enough product that doesn’t appear to threaten the leader, but serves a particular market that the leader has chosen to ignore (in this case, the 99% of people who DON’T use all of Excel’s functionality).
Meanwhile, Yaron Galai points out that Google’s strategy with Microsoft has been to employ the saturation missile attack. Most companies can fend of attacks from a single direction, just as most ships can fend off a single missile. But when you overwhelm point defense systems with a flood of missiles, some are bound to get through. More to the point, while Microsoft is fending off Google’s assaults on Office, it’s distracted from attaching Google’s franchise in advertising.
It IS true that these strategies could undermine Microsoft’s Office in the future. However lets not forget that the prized jewel is Search.
Also if you looked at Google’s moves, they seem to be shooting everywhere.. and not just at Microsoft…Wifi, Newsprint, Audio, Classifieds, Payments etc.
IMHO, Google is waking up that their plain search box is no longer a competitive advantage and they need some “sticky apps” to defend against Microsoft’s and Yahoo!’s head-on attack on their cash cow… and it is in fact that Google is the one that is playing defensive, building up all these apps to diversify before the inevitable happens… losing their Search market share.
It just so happens that the Google folks are very good at waving their hands and making people believe they can do magic and have some grand plan up their sleeves.
All of us will wake up one fine day and realize that the Emperor has no clothes.