• Information Week , Thursday, May 15, 2008 12:49 PM

The latest Hitwise data shows that Google's search market share is at an all-time high. Of course, that means that market share for Yahoo and MSN hit new lows -- which, as Thomas Claburn notes, is precisely why some in the industry remain concerned about the search giant's dominance.

Still, Claburn argues that while Google's chokehold on search is formidable, on some levels, it's beneficial for the entire Internet marketing and computing industries. "Google is alarming in the same way that Wal-Mart is alarming: It forces competitors to change," Claburn says.

He says that there's still room for companies like Microsoft, as well as small startups, to challenge Google on a number of fronts. "Microsoft will be a better [competitor], five years from now, when Ray Ozzie's vision for the company becomes more fully realized," Claburn says. "Yahoo may be one, if corporate raiders don't dismember it first. And maybe MySpace or Facebook will make their platform plays work. (Don't count Apple out, either.)"

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