Microsoft Targeting Google

Some interesting quotes from this article on CNET News.com about Microsoft new search initiatives:

“The fact that Longhorn is on the horizon raises questions to whether search services will be integrated into the Longhorn experience and what the ramifications will be to other folks,”

“Microsoft’s target will be to create little perceived difference between Web search and local search,”

“Ballmer identified search as one area where Microsoft will offer “new end-user functionality and services.” As part of his “integrated innovation” message, he said the company needs to “reach out broadly” through search, consumer services and other avenues to grow.”

“If Microsoft holds true to form, signs of its custom search engine will soon proliferate. As the company proved with browsers, media players and so many other products, it has myriad distribution points at its disposal and can exploit them at will to increase usage and market share. Already, sources close to the company say that it plans to incorporate a search toolbar into the Internet Explorer browser that will use MSN’s new engine.”

Now that MSFT has much of their core services in check, I think it makes a lot of sense for them to focus on the unification of seach and the classification of unstructured and structured data at the file system level.