Can Europe Overtake Google?
Mar 19th, 2008 by Jason Irwin
[This guest post is written by Jason Irwin of J2fi.net]
In an effort to make up for fragmented research efforts, the European Union nodded its approval toward France’s desire to fund the next Google.
France is planning to invest €99-million ($152-million USD) with several companies, including the French technology group Thomson SA. Thomson SA, in conjunction with 22 other companies, is working on a multimedia search project called Quaero. Just under half of the funding for the five-year €199-million project will come from the French government.
Quaero, Latin for “I search” (watch out for Apple), will develop technologies for working on all major platforms including desktops, cell phones, televisions and other connected devices. The idea is that this technology would be sold to television studios, film companies, online video sites and just about anyone else that makes, modifies or otherwise uses audio-visual content.
Oddly enough, the 23 organizations working on the Quaero project each have divergent interests and the EU has even gone so far as to say the project’s “chances for success are uncertain.” This is perhaps the nicest way of saying France’s €99-million are as good as wasted on this venture.
Thomson wants to use this funding to develop better internet protocol distribution technology for delivering high definition audio-video content online. Another company wants to develop algorithms that scan audio and video files for key words and phrases to index and search the media. Yet another wants to create a way to embed links in existing videos that would take us to a site based on what we’re touching.
Could you imagine seeing an interesting cell phone in a movie, touching the phone on your screen, and being taken to that manufacturers’ website or some online store offering that device? These are interesting dreams, but is it really wise to roll them all together when not one technology exists?
A Dysentery to Development
One of the main driving forces behind the EU’s plan to make the next Google is the desire to create some competition for the American juggernaut. Unfortunately, the EU has struggled with badly fragmented research efforts, poor funding for programs, and a general lack of ambition in the digital arena.
More often than not, development teams are forced to work with members from other companies to make “the next big thing”, while each team has their own plans and ambitions. Not only does this hinder the development of new technologies, but it makes completion of any project next to impossible. Quaero is no different.
No Euro-Google
What many established and budding technology firms seem to forget is that Google did not become Google overnight. In the first three years of operation the Big-G was nothing more than a very effective search engine, and they slowly gained market by offering a superior service with a very uncluttered interface. Once their existing technologies and offerings were running smoothly, Google would venture into other areas. Not before.
Rather than try to be everything to everyone right away, the companies working on Quaero need to step back and look at their core requirements and build that first. If public support exists, and if the market is there, then these 23 companies can tackle the next technology. The biggest problem with trying to accomplish 23 different goals simultaneously is that there will be no coherent core technology for people to get used to. Instead, we’ll just be served up with a lot of corporate propaganda and fancy advertising promoting something as grand, simple and unified as Google, only to find something as confused, cramped and discombobulated as Yahoo.
Microsoft has been trying to take on Google by offering everything to everyone without success. The same is said for Yahoo. If these internet giants can’t take on the mighty Google with their plethora of functions, features and advertising schemes, how can an over-managed hodge-podge of disparate developers do any better?
Time to Find Europe’s Silicon Valley
France wants to invest in local technology companies to spur innovation and keep skilled labour in the country. The EU is permitting the grant because they have the same goals, and France’s cash will not give any company an unfair advantage over the other. In all, I think this is a great idea and could go a long way in promoting technology companies in Europe. That said, investing in well-established organizations with the hope they build the next colossal success story may not be the way to go.
The most successful internet ventures have all started the same way: a small group of talented people solved a problem with a clean and simple solution. Ten minutes on Google will return a dozen small European companies that are trying to fill a need in the online search and advertising market, and some of these ventures could be quite successful with a little capital assistance.
There are certainly exceptions to this rule but, at the end of the day, the pattern is clear. If the EU is looking for their next digital claim to fame, they might just want to look to someone smaller.
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You’ve got to love it when a group tries to be everything to everyone. Quaero has been around for over three years and accomplished nothing innovative due to the existing top-heavy approach to solving a problem.
Perhaps one day governments will learn how to better invest taxpayer’s money
thanks for the article, jason. i agree there are too many cooks in the kitchen. they’re just going to create a big mess… what do you see as a possible solution, though? i don’t have much faith in mahalo but you never know what will happen with online…
Top-heavy management styles stiffle innovation about as effectively as the sun warms our planet. Unfortunately, from what we can see in most European technology companies, most ambitious projects are done as a team. While team work is certainly an effective tool to accomplish great works, when taking on something as big as Google an organization needs to start off small and work their way up.
Quaero has been an on-again-off-again project for years, and should be abandoned rather than heavily invested in. The 23 organizations that are working on this project each have their own goals and, because of this, should likely set out on their own to provide a solution. When these organizations have built a customer base around their technologies, then a group of managers and analysts can look at possible synergies and integrations.
Google started off really small, and became popular because they provided a superior service. The same was said about Yahoo until they tried to be everything for everyone. Microsoft couldn’t compete and tried to buy their way into the game with a top-heavy management style, and we can see what kind of successes they’ve had. Apple and HP are other examples of how much an organization can accomplish by starting out small, and working their way up in the world of technology.
Looking at this historically, one of the most effective ways of becoming really big in technology or on the internet is to have a small and talented team of people work together to solve a problem with as little management as possible. I’m not saying that management is a bad thing, necessarily, as they handle all the mundane stuff that crops up when organizations start to get bigger. However, when too many people have their fingers in the pie with their own interests and expectations, nothing good can come from it.
Rather than promoting technology jobs in Europe, this 99-million Euro package could just provide another example of why many European software companies never make it big
(Note: There are several great European software companies, and I’m not saying that Europe can’t compete. However, the corporate culture on that side of the planet does not mix well with the dynamics required to be popular online.)
Yeah don’t expect it to accomplish much… think they should focus their attentions elsewhere.
Sounds good, Giving Big G a good competitors is pretty nice news to hear.
When will they realise that throwing money at it will not solve the problem!
The EU will probably see the err in their ways after the Kenyan software industry passes them by.
So … another half-century or so?