Office Live vs. SampaSite
Tuesday when Microsoft announced the Windows Live and Office Live I was eager to find out what it was about. I went to www.live.com to check the new Windows Live and I was happy. Is that it? I was somehow relieved. Windows Live would not be competing with me.
Wednesday they gave more detail on Office Live and I've got a few good reviews and comments from some blogs like A VC, Techcrunch and Read/WriteWeb. And, guess what? It is almost exactly what I'm doing with SampaSite.
The Good News is that it strongly validates my product/company. There is a market and it is important and big enough for Microsoft to enter with a massive VaporWare/FUD campaign (I'm sure it will be real in a short period of time, but for now it looked like a "PowerPoint/Flash" product).
The Bad News is that if the offerings between me and MSFT are almost identical, I won't have the marketing budget to compete with it. However, I have a very good marketing and distribution plan, that can completely avoid a face-to-face confrotation with Office Live.
A final confession:
I've spent almost a year (between mid-2003 and mid-2004) trying to convince many VPs and GMs at Microsoft to do exactly that. When I got tired of talking, I left the company to do it myself, and here I'm writing the best Web Presence solution on the Internet.
SampaSite sounds very interesting, even if it is similar to that of Windows Live/Office live. I hope for the best for your company. I'm very interested in it and how it will compete with Microsofts product. I love the name too, SampaSite. I'll stay tuned in.
Posted by: Brian Benzinger | November 04, 2005 at 04:44 AM
I've always liked Paul Saffo's line: "Don't confuse a clear view with a short distance."
Your experience giving up in disgust and leaving MSFT to build something they ignored, and then having them eventually enter the market suggests something similar: "Don't confuse inaction with lack of understanding."
I believe that MS management understands the problems and opportunities they face more clearly than it often appears, but it takes them longer to take a bead on a target and press the trigger than one expects.
Posted by: Pierre de Vries | November 04, 2005 at 05:03 PM