Microsoft announced today that it is spending $6 billion to acquire online advertising company aQuantive Inc. This is surely a response to Google’s purchase of online advertising giant DoubleClick for a little over $3 billion in April.
Google and Microsoft have been rubbing elbows on the internet more frequently. Both companies run similar services, including pay-per-click advertising, free online email, and office software.
Furthermore, Microsoft may well see Google as a threat to their ability to control user experience, since Google’s offerings are cross-platform and operating system independent. For example, Google’s spreadsheets, word processors, and other office programs can be accessed online from any computer.
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer mentioned as part of his announcement of this merger that more and more software services were turning to internet hosted platforms. Microsoft is going to have to ape Google, a company that was once insignificant in comparison, and make the transition to online services if they want to stay competitive in the future.
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