Google’s forthcoming presentation software and slide-show tool, which the company previously said it would release around this time, is thought to be something like Google’s online version of Microsoft’s PowerPoint.
Except Microsoft doesn’t have an online version of its PowerPoint. Cisco-owned WebEx, however, has one of the next closest offerings: It enables its users to share and update PowerPoint and other presentations in real-time during online collaboration meetings.
Subrah Iyer, chief executive of WebEx, which leads the online conferencing market, said the prospect of Google treading on its competitive landscape does not keep him awake at night.
Our edge is in real-time communications. And real-time multimedia communications is a very difficult problem…It’s like me saying that tomorrow I’m going to take the money of Cisco, and Cisco has $20bn, and I’m going to build a better search engine [than Google], Iyer said. It’s not just about money, it’s about know-how.
Iyer noted that WebEx’s service launched in 1999 and the company is currently on its fifth generation of software. Microsoft’s been at it for four years, and its market share has not been any different, Iyer said.
WebEx claims to have about 65% share of the online collaboration market, while Microsoft’s LiveMeeting online collaboration software is its next closest competitor, accounting for roughly 20% of the market. Microsoft got into online collaboration by acquiring PlaceWare, which has been competing directly against WebEx for the past 10 years or so, Iyer said.
We’ve competed as a small company with no money in the bank, we competed against Microsoft, he said. And now, of course, WebEx has all of Cisco’s money behind it to enhance its online collaboration offerings, Iyer said. Cisco acquired WebEx for $3.2bn in mid-March.
The web conferencing industry has seen some major consolidation lately, with Google buying Marratech in April, IBM buying WebDialogs last month and Adobe entering the market a couple of years ago via its Macromedia buy. Google’s online presentation-creation software is expected to be built around technology it previously acquired from Tonic Systems and Zenter.
I don’t want to sound arrogant, you always have to be alert in the business, Iyer said. But I think the real time online collaboration problem has always been underestimated by people.
Our View
Online presentation-creation and slide show tools are squarely enterprise applications. Even if Google over time develops an enterprise-class offering, it won’t quickly and easily be able to compete with the reputation WebEx has built up with businesses during the past several years.
However, WebEx competitors are known for competing on price rather than service and features. In this regard, it’s possible that Google may nibble away at some of WebEx’s small business revenue.
