We live in a connected world that becomes smaller by the day as technology and the internet brings everyone closer together. National boundaries mean very little online, and industries that still try and impose geographic restrictions are the ones that are suffering most in this digital revolution. If a film, album, or some software is released in one country before another it is promptly pirated and “released” worldwide. But it is not just digital goods that are impacted by the worldwide nature of our outlook but services and even physical products.
It used to be that a company could release a product or service in one country, and then if that product was successful then they might launch in other markets around the world over the coming years. Now, however, if you don’t launch a product or service worldwide, then a local competitor may well emerge using you as their “inspiration”. Or they will simply start using the products or services of your wide-eyed and world-focused competitor. And it is on these terms we can look at Microsoft.
Microsoft was born in a time before the modern internet, when they sold a software product with little service attached to that. They still make their profits from selling Windows and Office licenses, with their cloud-based offerings coming under much tougher competition than the offline versions ever did. As people move more and more towards software as a service (SaaS) and away from desktop computers towards a combination of laptops, tablets, and smartphones. Microsoft in its current form with its current business practices has had its peak – it is still a hugely profitable business, but when it comes to the connected world they are under huge pressure from the likes of Google, Apple, Facebook, Twitter, and smaller independent companies.
With such competition it is as important than ever to get products right at launch, but when web companies trial or roll out new features – they either let users sign up for early access (like SoundCloud is currently doing), or apply it to a random few and see how it works out (like Facebook and Google). These methods can both help users give a company momentum and word-of-mouth publicity when leading up to a major release – but location is not a factor. Microsoft, however, is releasing the latest version of Bing for US-users only. All geo-focusing does is alienate every other country not getting the update at the time and with no release date in site. Such moves can be forgiven when content licenses are needed such as with maps or music – but this new Bing service is just a better layout that looks like it may actually get social search influence right. Why is this US only with no international launch date?
If you claim to be an international company with relevant products for each country – then you should treat each country evenly. The US may currently be the biggest single market for Microsoft, but when they are playing catch up to Google – their services need to be snapping at Google’s heels in every country.