The war between the tech giants continues, with a new battlefield emerging in the business applications arena. The New York Times Blog has broken a story stating that Google is planning a new application store to sell business software while promoting Google Apps. This is interesting, but not surprising, on several levels.
The rivalry between Microsoft and Google is not new, but Google Apps promises to bring the competition directly to one of Microsoft’s key doorsteps: business applications. With Bing hitting Google on the search front, Google is returning the favor by hitting MS on the biz app front.
Tom Krazit from CNet News says that the Google App store could come as soon as March. He posits that the new store will be part of the Google Solutions Marketplace, which would make sense.
Of course, Google is playing coy while at the same time apparently taking a cue from Apple’s marketing tactics, hoping to go viral with a key bit of leaked information. It seems to be working. Matt McGee of Search Engine Land makes the comparison directly, pointing out that one of the strengths of the iPhone is its proprietary app store.
Unlike Microsoft, however, it appears that the Google Apps Store would have third party software rather than proprietary offerings. This makes a financial model for the plan hard to figure, but it’s possible that Google could make money by taking a piece of each sale or indirectly through ads. Or maybe the goal is merely to get a big foot into the marketplace, displacing some the Seattle giant’s stronghold.
Either way, it’s definitely fun to watch as the giants of tech battle it out. I wonder what Apple’s reaction will be to all this?
