One of the trickiest challenges for a company is continuous innovation – to keep updating and refreshing its products when the excitement of a product launch is past – so I take my hat off to Google.
In contrast to Microsoft, which in the past let products such as Internet Explorer and Hotmail get overtaken by newer rivals, Google is devoted to updating its online software suite, including Gmail and other applications including Google Calendar.
Google is this week rolling out its priority inbox update for Gmail, shortly after having integrated its Google Voice phone service with the application. Meanwhile, it has a new design for Google Calendar that makes it easier to schedule appointments.
Competition has been good for Microsoft, which has picked up some share of the search market with Bing and is beating back the challenge from Firefox in the browser market.
Google seems to have learned the lesson without the need for the kinds of shocks Microsoft has received – if you do not innovate continuously, someone else will do so instead.
