The Wall Street Journal (subscription required) reports that Google is aggressively hiring at least partly due to an ensuing battle against Microsoft, as Microsoft has more than threatened to move into Google’s coveted online advertising with the release of new online subscription-based software. Google Chief Financial Officer George Reyes says, “Our objective is to get to substantial scale as quickly as possible.” He continues by adding, “The view of the management team, supported by the board, was there was at least one very large competitor that could inflict a lot of damage on us, and why not take the money when it was available to buffer any storm that might come downstream for us.”
Other sources talk of Microsoft insisting its monopolistic days are
over. As Microsoft continues in its efforts to develop its new Windows
Live online services, rumors are circulating about Google’s involvement
in office suite and/or operating system products that would attack
Microsoft’s most lucrative endeavors. Of course, the good news is that
this kind of neck to neck competition can only mean bigger and better
things for computer users.
