Monday, April 4, 2011

Apple, Google or Amazon? I think Microsoft

Google is trying hard with fighting on many fronts which helped Amazon to build something like the underdog empire. Both Amazon and Google are under the top 5 could companies. But Google is so busy with fighting against Microsoft, Apple and Facebook that they totally forgot about Amazon.
Amazon took the chance and did start to offer video streaming, then an android app store and lately the amazon files, document and music cloud.
All three services are based on two things amazon is very good in. Cloud computing and e-commerce.
Google is good in cloud but awful in e-commerce. Apple is good in e-commerce but has yet to get known as a cloud company.

Google is of course big enough to be the GE of the Internet but it is a dangerous and difficult way to get there. This can be only accomplished with a strong leadership and clear defined departments.

Amazon on the other hand had an amazing year behind with a 40% growth and does the right things. Sitting calm in their chair, monitoring want is going on in the world and take two different worlds and make the best of both. Example the Amazon app store:
Google failed to have a store which is in good control and therefore allowed to have a lot of apps floating around which are beyond of good and even harmful for your mobile device. And then the store itself is and was horrible to find apps.

Amazon decided to have their own developer base and to be in charge for approving applications. Similar to Apple but not so strict as Apple.

Another example is the music cloud:
Google is talking since years to build something like this, but Amazon did it without any fanfare before.

Amazon might soon have their own mobile devices (besides the kindle) and if they offer their own OS then Amazon could be a big player in mobile.



The whole world is now following Amazon, since they released in a really short period of time three services.

This is mow the best time for Microsoft. Microsoft could let Apple, Amazon and Google fight (and of course RIM as an active audience) and slowly without noise build their own little mobile empire.

The chances are good for Microsoft. Apple has surly the best looking devices and an awesome User Experience. But their OS is only available on Apple products. Which could be a problem for enterprises. As a company you have to get many times 3 different proposals, but with Apple all three proposal would be very similar, because retailers don't have a lot of margin and choices.

Google Android is free but there are too many versions on the market (which Google wants to change) and no MS office product available. IT does not want to support multiple versions of OS neither use a device which has not a good office integration.

RIM might be a good choice for companies but their products are just not keeping up, even if RIM will soon offer their OS with ability to run Amdroid apps.

Amazon knows cloud but has no OS nor hardware for businesses.

But Microsoft could be the winner. They just signed a contract with Nokia, number 1 phone manufacture. And MS is already in most companies present with their office products. In the next three years notebooks will be replaced by smart phones or tablets. MS needs to catch up otherwise there office products will be past.

But because office is big in companies the chance is good for MS to be number two mobile OS in 2015. Microsoft is with Azure (like Amazon and Google) one of the biggest cloud companies and with office 360 there products are available in the cloud like google documents, just more sophisticated.

And then is the knowledge MS could build over the last 25 years. The knowledge to build an OS which manufactures can use for their devices and still keep the OS the same.

As hard it sounds for Google, but at the end MS can win over Google in mobile market if Google does fast understand how to offer a solid OS with good service and support for manufactures and consumers.

But till either Google does grow up or MS runs the mobile and cloud world, till then i will watch Amazon.

BTW
Everybody is seeing Amazon a big competition for Apple. Somehow I believe they don't compete but they complete each other. Amazon is even not trying. Their movie streaming is not working on Apple mobile Safari, neither the music cloud. If they would want to compete, they would try harder.

We consumers are building active or inactive our own infrastructure and once in one it is hard to switch. If you did build all around iTunes and iOS then moving to something else is too painful.

Amazon is trying to get the "homeless" and disorientated android world. Android might be a good platform but nobody did try to get order into the chaos till Amazon came. They are more a competition to Google right now than to Apple.

If you use Apple, yo stay with Apple. If you believe in Android, then there is now somebody who understands you both, user and developer.


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