The Wall Street Journal says the Tide is Turning for Microsoft with Bing, Xbox, Windows 7, and the announcement of the Yahoo search deal. The stock market agrees. MSFT stock price is up about 20% since the beginning of the year.
Please read the full WSJ article, but here are a few juicy quotes;
“Reviewers are praising the test version of its Windows 7, which will go on sale in final form Oct. 22. Microsoft's Xbox business is getting buzz for innovation. Its new search engine, called Bing, has earned plaudits and market share since it launched last month.”
“And now Mr. Ballmer, Microsoft's CEO, has reached a deal with Yahoo that, if successful, could give him a big boost in his company's rivalry with Google. Under their 10-year agreement, Microsoft's Bing will become the Internet search service on Yahoo, while Yahoo will sell advertisements that run next to the search results to large companies on behalf of both Microsoft and Yahoo. The agreement could catapult Microsoft's share of online searches conducted by U.S. consumers to nearly 30% from just over 8.4%, compared to Google's 65% of the market, based on market estimates by Comscore Inc.”
“Robert Murray, CEO of search marketing firm iProspect.com, say his clients are seeing significant improvements in results from ads on Microsoft's search engine since Bing launched; they are beginning to invest more money with Microsoft, he says.”
Apple cofounder Steve Wozniak is a big fan of Bing. Woz saw Bing demo and said “"That was the most astounding software demo I've every seen," “I thought it was going to be all marketing and sales pitch…I was really impressed.” “I have been begging for this stuff for years” Take a minute and watch this interview with the Woz. He is not easily impressed, and certainly no fan of Microsoft, so this is a huge vote of confidence.
Yes, the tide is turning for Microsoft. Over next 12 months Microsoft will release the biggest slate of products ever including new versions of Windows, Office, development tools, and much more.
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