If we look back over the years the likes of Microsoft were the dominant force in the computer market and indeed tried to dominate the search engine industry. This giant of a company had the reputation, the finance but for some reason it has been left wanting in this new world of technology. This does beg the question, can you teach an old company new tricks?
Too big to fail
The term “too big to fail” was coined in the last major economic downturn brought on by the collapse of the US mortgage market. In many ways this term relates to the collapse of Lehman Bros which many thought was a company quite literally “too big to fail”. There are obviously reasons why the company was pushed to the brink of collapse only to see potential rescues fall by the wayside. However, it does beg the question is any company really too big to fail?
Dinosaurs lose their way
While it is perhaps unfair to focus on Microsoft, this is a company which was head and shoulders above anybody else in the computer industry and had a perfect position from which to dominate the search engine market. Through a lack of management, disastrous investments and in some ways a condescending attitude the company was overtaken by the likes of Google. Initially Google was discounted as a start-up business which would rise and fall but today it is one of the largest companies in the world and absolutely dominates the search engine market.
Looking back, the likes of Microsoft and Yahoo were the giants at the time and they failed to control the new kids on the block. It is easy with hindsight, but there were a number of mistakes made along the way some of which are still being made today.
Business red tape
Some businesses grow to the extent that the management chain becomes longer and longer and decisions can take weeks or months to make. Many of the more successful, modern day technology companies, have a general management structure which allows subsidiaries to effectively operate on their own under the main umbrella. There will be regular reporting, there will be control of finance but teams are parachuted in to take on new projects which will succeed or fail because of their direct input.
It is difficult finding a balance between business red tape, and protecting a company, and letting ambitious and creative minds loose on new ideas. We’ve also seen situations such as Microsoft whereby a company becomes too influential at which point the authorities can often attempt to break up the group. Microsoft has spent years battling regulators across the world, time which would have been better spent building a business for the future.
Conclusion
While no business is ever too big to fail there are some situations where larger businesses are less creative and more stuck in their ways. We have seen a whole array of new up-and-coming technology start-ups over the last decade many of which are still around today and dominating their chosen area of the market. While nobody would describe Google as a start-up today, this was a business which came from nowhere to take on the likes of Bing and Yahoo. We all know how that ended with these two former prominent search engines nothing but a footnote on the history of the industry today.