This blog is written by two people (usually). Those two people are myself (a Microsoft employee) and Chris (a Google employee). That being said, there seems to be some sort of inherent conflict of interest, since Microsoft and Google are competing companies. But do Microsoft and Google really compete?

Everyone seems to see Microsoft and Google as two tech titans battling it out on the planes of Kurukshetra. But when it really gets down to it, what products do the two companies make that directly compete? MSN Search and Google Search are the only two products that really compete. Google has nothing that directly competes with Microsoft’s two flagship products, Windows and Office (Not counting google spreadsheet… but that’s a topic for a different blog post). Despite the rumors that have been flying for years that google is going to produce their own browser/OS/office suite, at this point in time, none of those have come to pass. So, if all this is true, why do people still seem to think that Microsoft and Google are direct competitors? Because it’s not about the customers. It’s about the developers.

Microsoft and Google are competing for the intelligent people that will make the profitable products of the next generation. Both companies have unique advantages and disadvantages. However, the real deciding factor that will determine which company will be more profitable in the next 10 years will be which company is more successful at recruiting the smartest college graduates and research personel. Is it any surprise that Google has an office in Kirkland? (Just for reference to non-seattleites, Kirkland is right next door to Redmond).

This is probably obvious for most people in the industry, but some people still seem to miss the point.

-Tim