Microsoft’s apparently set to soon step up its efforts to capture some of the low-end enterprise search market from nemesis Google, according to an industry source.
Microsoft’s expected to announce some initiative along these lines possibly as soon as May 17.
Theories abound as to what’s to be unveiled. Perhaps Microsoft is augmenting many of its online features with Web analytics gizmos from DeepMetrix, a 15-year Internet intelligence firm.
Microsoft said two weeks ago, after confirming the DeepMetrix purchase, that it intended to soon incorporate DeepMetrix’s Web analytics features into AdCenter and other popular MSN features.
Another theory is Microsoft’s to create a line-up of computing hardware that enterprises buy to trick out their intranets’ search capabilities, or to add a hot new search engine to a Web site.
Either of these supposed moves would push Microsoft into direct competition with Google. Consider that there’s Google Analytics, Google’s free Web analytics facet. Meanwhile, Google’s been selling a low-cost enterprise search device, the “Mini,” for years now.
There’s more about the newfound Microsoft/Google enterprise competition here to consider.
“Microsoft is clearly entering the lower end of the market to combat Google; it will be interesting to see how this all plays out,” said Andrew McKay, vice president of product marketing for leading enterprise search company Fast Search & Transfer.
“The real innovation in search, however, is happening at the high end of the market, where a new generation of search technologies is changing the way companies conduct business.”