4 ms·

Genuine question: In what way does Microsoft benefit from people using Edge? It's a web browser. It's a rather neutral piece of technology. How can they make mo

by nothis 8y ago

Genuine question: In what way does Microsoft benefit from people using Edge? It's a web browser. It's a rather neutral piece of technology. How can they make money out of it?

pgsandstrom 8y ago
Two parts: 1) Information gathering. This one I think needs no explanation 2) Controlling a platform is incredible powerful in influencing your users. Lets say you control an OS. Then you can nag on your users to also use your browser! If you control the browser, you can nag your users to use you mail system. Perhaps someday they will nag on the users to use their marketplace, their movie distribution system, their whatever.
- eckza 8y ago
  Adding to 2): Microsoft has tried to embrace / extend / extinguish the open web on more than one occasion. They're nowhere near striking distance of making that happen; but you can bet your life that if they were, that they'd make a run at it.
  - ryandrake 8y ago
    Newsflash: nearly every major tech company that has a large Internet presence would like nothing more than to extinguish the open web and user choice. Unfortunately for users, ecosystem lock-in is in everyone’s play book.
    - eckza 8y ago
      And unfortunately for users, it’s wildly profitable.
rbinv 8y ago
Bing is probably the default search engine.
Longhanks 8y ago
The same could be said for operating systems, yet Windows 10 ships with lots of bloatware apps (Candy Crush...). Also, a browser can track your browsing behavior, data that can be sold.
- mi_lk 8y ago
  Does MS really sell data to anyone? Seems to me whatever data they collect would be used internally, e.g. to improve products.
  - jplayer01 8y ago
    One problem is that we have no idea with all that data they're able to collect through Windows.
    - pbhjpbhj 8y ago
      I don't use Windows, but surely the GDPR means EU users have a right to know how their data is used and who it is passed to, and how they use it ... so for EU users that info should be public already?
rgbrenner 8y ago
Make the default search engine bing.. most users don’t change it. Put shortcuts to your other products. An Xbox bookmark/button is an ad for the Xbox.. increasing Xbox sales, but also reducing the money they need to spend to promote the Xbox If users decide they want a completely Microsoft platform- they login to windows with their msft online password, use ms office, etc they’ll be more likely to pick a windows phone or other Microsoft products that integrate with the products they already use (saving them setup time, transferring settings, etc). If they have more information about you, they can make ads in bing more relevant and perform better.. increasing the price of the ads, and the ctr There are a few ideas off the top of my head.
- exikyut 8y ago
  You can still get Windows Phone-based devices?!
jakow 8y ago
This is an excellent answer to this question: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mviTS_cIWXg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mviTS_cIWXg
- mkirschner 8y ago
  Very interesting and informative video. But it is a bit of a bait and switch, making a weird transition toward the very end into an advert for brilliant.org. That fact doesn't negate the well-done informational portion, and brilliant.org sounds like a cool offering, but what a yucky tactic for such a high-ground video.
sjwright 8y ago
> In what way does Microsoft benefit from people using Edge? Every installation of Chrome on Windows is an opportunity for their most dangerous competitor to siphon off future opportunities. Anything which reduces that number is a fundamental win. They also get to direct some percentage of users towards their properties (e.g. Bing) which do make revenue. Finally there's the opportunity cost of not being in the game: having users in their camp gives them moves which they would otherwise not have. (Similarly Bing—some might call it a relative failure, but it's a roaring success compared to never trying in the first place. It was a good decision.)
vxNsr 8y ago
The new tab page on Edge is full of ads. All the other comments here are also true, but this is the main reason. They directly benefit every time you open Edge. I wouldn't be surprised if some ad sales VP made this decision after seeing the numbers broken down by "edge new tab impressions" vs "everything else."
clubm8 8y ago
> Genuine question: In what way does Microsoft benefit from people using Edge? It's a web browser. It's a rather neutral piece of technology. How can they make money out of it? Well for one thing, keeping people away from Google's browser keeps people away from their office suite, one of the biggest moneymakers outside the X-box division for Microsoft.

by nothis 8y ago

Genuine question: In what way does Microsoft benefit from people using Edge? It's a web browser. It's a rather neutral piece of technology. How can they make money out of it?

pgsandstrom 8y ago

Two parts: 1) Information gathering. This one I think needs no explanation 2) Controlling a platform is incredible powerful in influencing your users. Lets say you control an OS. Then you can nag on your users to also use your browser! If you control the browser, you can nag your users to use you mail system. Perhaps someday they will nag on the users to use their marketplace, their movie distribution system, their whatever.

eckza 8y ago
Adding to 2): Microsoft has tried to embrace / extend / extinguish the open web on more than one occasion. They're nowhere near striking distance of making that happen; but you can bet your life that if they were, that they'd make a run at it.
- ryandrake 8y ago
  Newsflash: nearly every major tech company that has a large Internet presence would like nothing more than to extinguish the open web and user choice. Unfortunately for users, ecosystem lock-in is in everyone’s play book.
  - eckza 8y ago
    And unfortunately for users, it’s wildly profitable.

rbinv 8y ago

Bing is probably the default search engine.

Longhanks 8y ago

The same could be said for operating systems, yet Windows 10 ships with lots of bloatware apps (Candy Crush...). Also, a browser can track your browsing behavior, data that can be sold.

mi_lk 8y ago
Does MS really sell data to anyone? Seems to me whatever data they collect would be used internally, e.g. to improve products.
- jplayer01 8y ago
  One problem is that we have no idea with all that data they're able to collect through Windows.
  - pbhjpbhj 8y ago
    I don't use Windows, but surely the GDPR means EU users have a right to know how their data is used and who it is passed to, and how they use it ... so for EU users that info should be public already?

rgbrenner 8y ago

Make the default search engine bing.. most users don’t change it. Put shortcuts to your other products. An Xbox bookmark/button is an ad for the Xbox.. increasing Xbox sales, but also reducing the money they need to spend to promote the Xbox If users decide they want a completely Microsoft platform- they login to windows with their msft online password, use ms office, etc they’ll be more likely to pick a windows phone or other Microsoft products that integrate with the products they already use (saving them setup time, transferring settings, etc). If they have more information about you, they can make ads in bing more relevant and perform better.. increasing the price of the ads, and the ctr There are a few ideas off the top of my head.

exikyut 8y ago
You can still get Windows Phone-based devices?!

jakow 8y ago

This is an excellent answer to this question: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mviTS_cIWXg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mviTS_cIWXg

mkirschner 8y ago
Very interesting and informative video. But it is a bit of a bait and switch, making a weird transition toward the very end into an advert for brilliant.org. That fact doesn't negate the well-done informational portion, and brilliant.org sounds like a cool offering, but what a yucky tactic for such a high-ground video.

sjwright 8y ago

> In what way does Microsoft benefit from people using Edge? Every installation of Chrome on Windows is an opportunity for their most dangerous competitor to siphon off future opportunities. Anything which reduces that number is a fundamental win. They also get to direct some percentage of users towards their properties (e.g. Bing) which do make revenue. Finally there's the opportunity cost of not being in the game: having users in their camp gives them moves which they would otherwise not have. (Similarly Bing—some might call it a relative failure, but it's a roaring success compared to never trying in the first place. It was a good decision.)

vxNsr 8y ago

The new tab page on Edge is full of ads. All the other comments here are also true, but this is the main reason. They directly benefit every time you open Edge. I wouldn't be surprised if some ad sales VP made this decision after seeing the numbers broken down by "edge new tab impressions" vs "everything else."

clubm8 8y ago

> Genuine question: In what way does Microsoft benefit from people using Edge? It's a web browser. It's a rather neutral piece of technology. How can they make money out of it? Well for one thing, keeping people away from Google's browser keeps people away from their office suite, one of the biggest moneymakers outside the X-box division for Microsoft.