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Amazing Marketshare
Posted on 12/4/12 at 12:03 am
Posted on 12/4/12 at 12:03 am
The Microsoft thread got me thinking. It is quite amazing how much marketshare some tech companies get. In other industries there is a lot of decent head to head competition. Look at the the different levels of auto manufacturing or airlines as examples.
However certain tech companies rule their market without much competition or at least very few competitors...
Satellite TV: Two Legitimate Competitors
Cell Phone Platforms: Two legitimate competitors with several snuggling companies left behind.
Online Auction: eBay clearly rules this market hands down.
Online Search: You would think there would easily be 3-5 major search engines. When you consider how big the market is Google has 0 competition. Bing and Yahoo are pretty much dead. Just look at how much money Microsoft looses on it.
I know this happens in other big industries too (major league sports). I just find it weird.
However certain tech companies rule their market without much competition or at least very few competitors...
Satellite TV: Two Legitimate Competitors
Cell Phone Platforms: Two legitimate competitors with several snuggling companies left behind.
Online Auction: eBay clearly rules this market hands down.
Online Search: You would think there would easily be 3-5 major search engines. When you consider how big the market is Google has 0 competition. Bing and Yahoo are pretty much dead. Just look at how much money Microsoft looses on it.
I know this happens in other big industries too (major league sports). I just find it weird.
5
Posted on 12/4/12 at 12:13 am to nolanola
I think it's because electronic companies are still very young in most cases....
Take for example cars. When ford was the only thing in town he had huge market share... Slowly but surely that was beat down as the industry expanded.
Same for tech companies. Msft, Sony, and others dominated for years.... Now more and more are entering the game.
Take for example cars. When ford was the only thing in town he had huge market share... Slowly but surely that was beat down as the industry expanded.
Same for tech companies. Msft, Sony, and others dominated for years.... Now more and more are entering the game.
Posted on 12/4/12 at 12:15 am to bryso
I see where you're coming from but the online search market is decently mature and certainly should be a profitable place for several companies. Google doesn't even have the threat of legitimate competition.
Posted on 12/4/12 at 12:56 am to nolanola
As far as search revenue goes, it's a free service, and therefore the lion's share will go to the best of breed.
The idea of making money off of free is still pretty new, other than media (which isn't homogeneous, like search), so I can't think of a perfect comparable. The best I can come up with is illegal file sharing services. 99% of the world uses the best one only.
The idea of making money off of free is still pretty new, other than media (which isn't homogeneous, like search), so I can't think of a perfect comparable. The best I can come up with is illegal file sharing services. 99% of the world uses the best one only.
Posted on 12/4/12 at 3:35 am to nolanola
With tech companies you also have to think about inertia. People usually don't switch over if they are already comfortable with a something. Take for example - Google search, Gmail and Facebook. I'll never use a different search engine, email client or social network. I'm happy and comfortable enough, and I am tied to them for life or until they go out of business.
I have no reason, time or energy to try something new, not to mention not having friends and family not using the same things which can be a big issue with social network especially. Gmail chat is also incredibly useful and knowing you have your wife, parents and friends on there almost all the time is really useful. I can leave a quick message to anybody I want knowing they will get the message. If I switch to the cool new Outlook.com email, I will lose that. So I will never switch from Gmail for this reason obviously.
First movers have a tremendous advantage in personal tech. Once they get a foothold, it is not easy to dislodge them. Online services though is a different game. There is plenty of completion in online streaming, cloud services, online storage etc. These services are different than free personal services and usually compete on price and features. People can switch relatively easily in part also due to the nascent technology in some of these fields. There is no clear cut winner.
People don't have the same level of loyalty when it comes to automobiles or airlines and such. In the past I've personally owned Toyotas, Nissans, Hondas and an Audi. I just get the best vehicle available at the time. I have no loyalty whatsoever and have no idea which car I'll buy next or which airline. I just go for the best deal.
I have no reason, time or energy to try something new, not to mention not having friends and family not using the same things which can be a big issue with social network especially. Gmail chat is also incredibly useful and knowing you have your wife, parents and friends on there almost all the time is really useful. I can leave a quick message to anybody I want knowing they will get the message. If I switch to the cool new Outlook.com email, I will lose that. So I will never switch from Gmail for this reason obviously.
First movers have a tremendous advantage in personal tech. Once they get a foothold, it is not easy to dislodge them. Online services though is a different game. There is plenty of completion in online streaming, cloud services, online storage etc. These services are different than free personal services and usually compete on price and features. People can switch relatively easily in part also due to the nascent technology in some of these fields. There is no clear cut winner.
People don't have the same level of loyalty when it comes to automobiles or airlines and such. In the past I've personally owned Toyotas, Nissans, Hondas and an Audi. I just get the best vehicle available at the time. I have no loyalty whatsoever and have no idea which car I'll buy next or which airline. I just go for the best deal.
Posted on 12/4/12 at 7:48 am to nolanola
quote:
Satellite TV: Two Legitimate Competitors
I can think of three off the top of my head - DirectTV, Dish and BSkyB.
Posted on 12/4/12 at 8:21 am to nolanola
Which companies snuggle?
Posted on 12/4/12 at 8:59 am to foshizzle
quote:
I can think of three off the top of my head - DirectTV, Dish and BSkyB.
Yes and 1 of them doesn't do business in the US.
Posted on 12/4/12 at 9:02 am to nolanola
It's common for a mature market to feature two dominate providers and a bunch of guys way behind them picking up table scraps.
Posted on 12/4/12 at 10:14 am to nolanola
quote:
Yes and 1 of them doesn't do business in the US.
Your post didn't mention you were only talking about the domestic market.
Posted on 12/4/12 at 11:22 pm to foshizzle
quote:
Your post didn't mention you were only talking about the domestic market.
I'm talking about companies that actually compete with each other.
Posted on 12/5/12 at 3:32 pm to nolanola
quote:
I'm talking about companies that actually compete with each other.
In that case you should probably throw in the cable providers as well. Even though the delivery method is different they are definitely competitors for "TV" content.
And these days your local ISP is becoming one as well.
Posted on 12/6/12 at 8:16 am to foshizzle
quote:
In that case you should probably throw in the cable providers as well. Even though the delivery method is different they are definitely competitors for "TV" content.
And these days your local ISP is becoming one as well.
That is a good point. These two industries do compete very heavily.
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