Bigmouthmedia Search Engine News: /finance/

iOS devices spanking Android in corporate uptake

Fri, 22 Jul 2011 03:24:00 GMT

While Android, Apple, RIM and Windows have been duking it out for dominance amongst public consumers, with Android taking the largest share for several consecutive quarters, Cupertino's reportedly pulled ahead amongst corporate clients, according to a recent survey.

The report, issued by Good Technology, a mobile software provider, showed a clear preference for Apple devices amongst businesses - good news for Apple, a company that once saw droves of corporate decision-makers opting for Windows over its native desktop OS.

Granted, Steve Jobs and Co have enjoyed a definite advantage in the tablet realm - which Good found iPad dominating with 95 per cent of all business tablet activations - due to the failure of competitors to produce a viable alternative, despite much-hyped announcements from RIM, Motorola and HP.

More surprisingly, according to the report, iOS smart phones - of which the iPhone stands alone - accounted for nearly half of all smart phone activations in the business world through the second quarter of 2011. Meanwhile, Android took about half that share, hovering just beneath 25 per cent.

To add insult to injury, the quarter marked the first time that business iPad net activations eclipsed the combined total of Android smart phone and tablet activations, according to Good.

"In the second quarter of 2011, the most striking thing is Good's users activated more iPad tablets than Android smartphones and tablets combined," John Herrema, senior vice president of corporate strategy at the company, said in a press release.

"While Android may be gaining smartphone market share with consumers, our business users are clearly gravitating to the iPad and doing so in large numbers. This is especially true in the Financial Services sector, which drove nearly half of all Good's iPad activations over the quarter."

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Google, Facebook and Twitter CEOs support net neutrality ruling

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 05:00:00 GMT

The CEOs of Google, Facebook, Twitter and other major internet companies have signed a collaborative letter in support of the upcoming net neutrality ruling from the Federal Communications Commission.

iEncyclopedia reports that the FCC ruling is expected to be formally announced this month, and will see equal access being given to all internet users. The rule will ensure that Internet Service Providers are transparent about network management, and will prevent ISPs from discriminating against certain content or applications.

The letter from the Open Internet Coalition states: "We believe a process that results in common sense baseline rules is critical to ensuring that the Internet remains a key engine of economic growth, innovation, and global competitiveness.

"An open Internet fuels a competitive and efficient marketplace, where consumers make the ultimate choices about which products succeed and which fail. This allows businesses of all sizes, from the smallest startup to the larger corporations, to compete, yielding maximum economic growth and opportunity."

While the executives who support the initiative believe that an official net neutrality ruling will help to protect economic growth and creativity online, other organisations - telecom and wireless companies in particular - are claiming that an open internet may serve to repress innovation.

The letter was signed by 24 CEOs of major internet companies, including Eric Schmidt of Google, an outspoken advocate of net neutrality. The letter was also signed by Evan Williams, co-founder of Twitter, and Facebook's founder and CEO, Mark Zuckerberg. Other industry figures putting their names to the ruling include the CEOs of Amazon.com, Digg, eBay, Mozilla, Skype and YouTube, among others.

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comScore reveals Google and Bing searches on the rise

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 03:48:00 GMT

The latest figures from research firm comScore have revealed minor growth for both Google and Microsoft search engines in the last month, while Facebook has achieved the highest online growth among social network searches in September.

Computer Business Review reports that Google is still the search engine market leader by a clear head, as the Mountain View giant held 64.9 per cent of the market in September - accounting for approximately 9 billion searches - up from 64.6 per cent in August. Microsoft's 'decision engine' Bing has also experienced a slight increase from 9.3 per cent in August to 9.4 in September, or 1.3 billion searches.

These increases correspond to a drop in Yahoo! searches, taking the second most-used search engine from 19.3 per cent down to 18.8 per cent at present, while further down in the highly competitive search engine stakes, both Ask.com and AOL have maintained a stable 3.9 per cent and 3 per cent share across both months respectively.

The most notable increase in searches this month originated in social networking sites, with Facebook achieving a 19 per cent gain in searches since August, while MySpace searches dropped by 12 per cent - however, the older social network still bags more searches overall than Facebook, with MySpace users making 494 million searches in September compared to Facebook's 384 million.

While these figures for a single month cannot be taken as indicate of trends, it is clear that Google's dominant position is still comfortably secure at present, following the news that Google dominates search advertising more than ever with a new record 81.2 per cent share.

While such achievements would seem to make the company all but untouchable, Bing's continuing innovations and the ten-year partnership between Microsoft and Yahoo! threaten to shake up the balance of power in the search engine market.

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Microsoft 'considering investing $1.5bn in retention of Yahoo! staff'

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 09:00:00 GMT

Internet giant Microsoft is reportedly considering setting aside $1.5 billion in order to retain Yahoo! staff if its takeover of the search engine provider goes ahead.

According to details of a lawsuit filed by shareholders against Yahoo! in February concerning pension funds, Microsoft will use the money if it is successful in its bid for Yahoo!.

During a conference call hearing on March 24th, a Yahoo! lawyer said that Microsoft had "earmarked $1.5 billion for employee retention at Yahoo!", the Wall Street Journal reports.

The legal case concerned allegations that Yahoo! breached its duties by not responding in good faith to Microsoft's acquisition offer.

Initial discussions concerning the $1.5 billion staff retention plan were said to have taken place in a communication between the general counsels of Yahoo! and Microsoft.

A Microsoft spokesman stated: "Microsoft is not commenting on the suit or anything related to it."

Meanwhile, in a staff email sent in February, Kevin Johnson, president of the Microsoft platforms and services division, commented, "There's no question we will dedicate significant rewards and compensation to Yahoo! and Microsoft employees."

In January of this year, Yahoo! revealed it had let go of more than 1,000 workers, reducing the company's total number of personnel to around 13,200.

The reductions were said not to have affected the areas of the business that support its "critical growth initiatives".

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Yahoo!'s earnings report 'will result in prolonged Microsoft takeover battle'

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 06:37:00 GMT

The positive earnings results posted earlier this week by Yahoo! will not help it fight off Microsoft's takeover bid, but rather will result in a drawn out struggle, it has been suggested.

According to Aleksandra Bosnjak, lead analyst at StrategyEye Digital Media, the search engine provider's first-quarter performance "has probably set the scene for a prolonged battle for Microsoft in its bid to takeover Yahoo!", VNUNet.com reports.

As had been predicted by a number of search industry analysts, Yahoo! revealed that its earnings for the first three months of 2008 had beaten expectations, with net revenue standing at $1.35 billion, slightly ahead of initial estimates of $1.32 billion.

Commenting on the results, Ms Bosnjak said: "By delivering earnings and revenue that surpassed market estimates, Yahoo! added more uncertainty in terms of finding the right acquisition price."

She added that, regardless of its earnings, the internet company is still in a "position of weakness" and will have to collaborate with another company in order to make advances in the market.

The expert stated: "It is in Yahoo!'s interest to resolve this bid as soon as possible since failing to find a solution means, ultimately, no progress."

Additionally, both Yahoo! and Microsoft are under pressure to combat the advances being made by rival company Google, which is ahead in "every single aspect of online competition", she went on to say.

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Yahoo! earnings beat expectations

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 05:49:00 GMT

As predicted by several search industry analysts, Yahoo! has revealed that its earnings for the first quarter of this year beat expectations.

The search engine provider reported net revenue of $1.35 billion, slightly ahead of initial estimates of $1.32 billion and 14 per cent higher than the $1.18 billion it made during the same period last year.

Commenting on the results, Jerry Yang, Yahoo! co-founder and chief executive officer, said: "This quarter's solid performance underscores the fact that we are executing on that plan.

"Yahoo! is beginning to realise the benefits of the very substantial and deliberate long-term investments we've made to capitalise on the opportunities ahead in display and to recapture momentum in search."

He went on to say that, not only does the search engine provider have a "unique franchise" and industry-leading technology, but it also benefits from the "dedication and professionalism" of its team.

Mr Yang added that the success of the financial quarter is indicative of how well the personnel at Yahoo! can perform under challenging circumstances.

However, the earnings report did not get a positive reaction from investors. Indeed, its shares fell in value following the announcement.

In an interview with Bloomberg, Paul Meeks, an analysts with family investment firm LR Burtschy & Co, said: "[Yahoo!] needed to show fabulous results and these are good results. I don't know if they're what's necessary to prove to investors they can go it alone."

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Yahoo!'s earnings 'to face scrutiny'

Mon, 21 Apr 2008 04:48:00 GMT

Search engine provider Yahoo! is expected to come under intense scrutiny when it announces its first-quarter earnings, the Wall Street Journal reports.

According to the publication, the announcement, which will be made tomorrow (April 22nd), will be an opportunity for the firm to demonstrate it is worth more than rival company Microsoft is bidding for it.

Microsoft has set a deadline for discussions for April 26th, two days after it releases its own three-monthly earnings.

Analysts anticipate that Yahoo! will meet its modest financial projections, which it confirmed earlier this month.

The firm predicted first-quarter revenue of between $1.68 billion and $1.84 billion. This compares to $1.67 billion a year earlier.

According to Jeffrey Lindsay, an internet analyst with wealth management company Sanford C Bernstein, Yahoo! is likely to deliver in terms of its projected earnings due to its desire to avoid a Microsoft takeover unless the offer is raised.

He stated: "In any internet business, you can pull the stops out in any one or two quarters. [Yahoo! would] be very crazy not to."

Last week, rival search engine provider Google announced revenue of $5.19 billion for the first three months of 2008. This figure exceeded the expectations of investors who were concerned about the search giant's financial status following the publication of comScore figures that suggested the company's click-through rates had increased by only two per cent compared with last year.

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Google ranked top in world's most powerful brands

Mon, 21 Apr 2008 04:36:00 GMT

Internet giant Google has topped a poll of the world's most powerful brands.

According to research firm Millward Brown's annual top 100 global brand power list, the search engine provider has an estimated value of $86 billion.

Meanwhile, competitor Microsoft came fourth in the list, with its brand value said to stand at $70.89 billion.

The figures are derived from a combination of balance sheet values and consumer sentiment.

Commenting on the findings, Peter Walshe, global account director at Millward Brown, stated: "Google's rank has been driven by fantastic financial performance and equity value," the Guardian reports.

The news will be welcomed by Google, which recently announced impressive first quarter revenue results.

Last week, the search engine provider reported revenue of $5.19 billion for the first three months of 2008, a sum which significantly exceeded the expectations of the majority of investors.

The top five positions remained unchanged year-on-year, with each of the five companies achieving growth of at least 15 per cent compared to 2007.

Meanwhile, the top 100 brands combined have increased in estimated value by 21 per cent over the past two years to reach $1.94 trillion.

Brands in emerging Asian markets, such as China, were also reported to have achieved success compared to those in more established Asian countries.

Indeed, the top Chinese brands had risen in estimated value by 51 per cent this year, compared to just seven per cent in Japan and Korea.

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Google revenue exceeds investors' expectations

Fri, 18 Apr 2008 04:01:00 GMT

Internet giant Google has exceeded the expectations of investors, reporting revenue of $5.19 billion for the first three months of 2008.

This figure is 42 per cent higher than the search engine provider reported in the first quarter of last year.

Commenting on the impressive results, Eric Schmidt, chief executive officer of Google, said: "Our ongoing innovation in search, ads and apps helped drive healthy growth globally across our product lines, yielding another strong quarter for Google."

He added that, as the firm integrates DoubleClick into its ad platform, new ways to improve the experiences of users and increase value for advertisers and publishers open up.

Mr Schmidt continued: "Also, while exercising operational discipline, we continue to explore opportunities that add value to users everywhere and to Google in the long-term."

As a result of Google's announcement, shares in the company rose sharply in after-hours trading, increasing by more than 17 per cent.

Investors had been concerned after a report by research firm comScore recently suggested that click-through rates on Google had increased by only two per cent compared with last year.

Responding to the positive results in light of Wall Street fears, Rob Sanderson, an analyst with American Technology Research, stated that "there was a lot of smoke and not much fire", the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

He added that investors were "very much relieved" when Google posted its figures.

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AOL-Yahoo! deal 'imminent'

Mon, 14 Apr 2008 02:25:00 GMT

In a bid to fend off Microsoft's takeover bid, search engine provider Yahoo! is closing in on a deal with AOL, according to sources.

Confirming a Wall Street Journal story, one insider told Reuters that under the terms of such a deal, Yahoo! would receive a cash investment from AOL's parent company Time Warner in exchange for a 20 per cent stake in the combined business.

The agreement, which would exclude AOL's dial-up internet access business, would reportedly value AOL at around $10 billion.

According to the source, Yahoo! would use the money provided by AOL to buy back millions of its own shares to boost its holdings and raise its stock prices.

Meanwhile, Greg Sterling, an analyst at Sterling Market Intelligence, stated that, were AOL and Yahoo! to combine, they may choose to make their instant messaging programs interoperable, USA Today reports.

He went on to say that both Yahoo! and AOL's strengths are in display advertising, adding: "Together, ad reps would have an easier time selling a large audience. It would give both a big boost."

Reportedly, the move to avoid a Microsoft takeover is part of a two-pronged strategy which would also see Yahoo! team up with Google to outsource some of its web search ad operations.

Under the deal, which was announced last week, Yahoo! will initiate a limited test of Google's AdSense for Search service.

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