• by Shankar Gupta , April 25, 2006

Microsoft's poaching of Ask.com chief Steve Berkowitz to head the Online Business Group, which encompasses MSN, appears to indicate that the company--an underdog in search--aims to bolster its search offering to better compete with market leaders Google and Yahoo.

"This hire is completely representative of the fact that MSN is going to be a player in the search war." said Josh Stylman, managing partner at Reprise Media, who worked under Berkowitz at Ask.com. "It's a huge win for Microsoft."

Stylman, who previously served as senior vice president for business development and syndication at Ask Jeeves (now Ask.com)--where he reported directly to Berkowitz--said Berkowitz turned the search engine around and made it a player in the second-tier search engine space.

"First and foremost, Steve came into the organization and said, 'Too many projects here. Let's bear down and get focused on one thing,'" Stylman said, adding that Berkowitz chose to focus on algorithmic search. It was Berkowitz who led Ask Jeeves' acquisition of Teoma, a search engine whose algorithm now powers Ask.com's engine and was key to the company's recovery.

To date, MSN lags in search behind Google and Yahoo--and the difference appears to be growing (see related OMD brief "Google, Yahoo Grow Search Share").

Search expert Gary Stein, however, said that Berkowitz drove AskJeeves to be more than just a search engine with other acquisitions--notably the purchase of BlogLines--and that may be the approach that MSN is looking to take. "He drove Ask to be more than just what it was," Stein said. "MSN is quickly redefining what a portal is, with links in from the [Microsoft] applications. He certainly comes from the world of search, but he's got a vision or a desire to be more than just a search engine."

Kevin Johnson, co-president of Microsoft's Platforms and Services Division--whom Berkowitz will be reporting to starting May 8--said that he will be focused on implementing the Microsoft ad-supported software and services strategy. "Steve's management experience, deep functional knowledge of the search and Internet space, and understanding of both the offline and online publishing worlds make him a great choice to lead the Online Business Group," Johnson said in a statement. "He is a proven leader, and is excited by the opportunity to take the assets we've built in MSN and drive our software and services vision forward."