Struggles that previous software engineers underwent
This paper examines the struggles that previous software engineers (Bill Gates of Microsoft’s Internet Explorer Browser and Marc Andreessen’s Netscape Navigator Browser) underwent to keep, maintain and uphold there, rather, pristine software applications for accessing information on the world wide web at the time. Analysis of the raging wars between Microsoft and Netscape in the market for web browsers and related products (Yoffie, David B., and Mary Kwak. “Browser Wars, 1994-1998, the.” Harvard Business School Case 798-094, June 1998). And they became overwhelming due to supply and demand, competitive advantage, innovation, pride and attaining the highest dollar in the market at the time. What was the ultimate gain during these wars was a major focal point in this paper. Why such malice from the interested parties? Why go through all the efforts to discredit one another on not only professional grounds but personal level too? The heaviness of the rivalry during these 90’s time really catapults the anxiety to this paper and in effect it intrigues me to refrain from otherwise an idealistic approach to a more pragmatic one towards counteracting this phenomenon. The first section of the paper will focus on the history of the two browser companies. Thereafter the second section will look at their impact in the browsing world and lastly the repercussions that the wars brought to the current world now. Browser Wars – Microsoft Vs. Netscape Browser Wars – Microsoft Vs. Netscape. Many people enjoy the benefits of using browsers and accessing different platforms now at their comfort. But do they really ask themselves how they arrived at that? How easy it is to gain information at just a click of a button and there it pops out? Do they really understand the different dynamics that underwent at the time to realize this? How struggling companies and software engineers had sleepless nights to outdo their opponents and gain the larger market share in the browsing world? All these are important questions that need answers. I look at the origin of these two browsers to just understand them enough as to know how far they have come from and how far they were willing to take this ‘fight’. The Browser Wars happened in the mid-90s, at a time when the world was just starting to come online. Millions of web users were caught in the arms way on which browser to use. It was an enigma at the time. That notwithstanding, it was rather obvious that if you were to check out the World Wide Web, chances were pretty high that you would be using Netscape Navigator. The company began pretty soon after software engineer Marc Andreessen graduated from the University of Illinois in 1994. He had worked on some browser but put Netscape to a top line commercial browser with the help of Jim Clark by the end of 1994. What I find interesting though is the fact that if you were to connect to the web in the 90’s you would head to your local computer shop and check the browsers that they had for sale including Spyglass but the most known would be Netscape. This shows how well-known this browser was. Would this in the long run cause their downfall due to eyeing competitors? On the other hand we have Microsoft’s Internet Explorer which was the browser for company at the time. This came in as just an afterthought to Bill Gate’s company after fears of being ousted out of the market by their competitor (Netscape Navigator) that boasted of having a 90% of the market share. Like what if we come up with our own browser for the World Wide Web and integrate it into our Operating System? This seemed as the most logical way to go for the team as they had ignored for a longer time the web and internet as a whole but instead had focused more on their core competency, Personal Computing (PC). More than ever this was the mission and goal of the Gate’s company- to take up the tidal wave as he says in his Bill Gates. “The Internet Browser Wars – Microsoft Vs. Netscape Tidal Wave.” Letters of Note. May 5, 1995. Indeed this was rare opportunity that just came at the right time. And Gate never disappointed, he reached for the internet market and quenched his thirst, only that he left a sore Netscape’s Navigator reeling down in its knees as we later come to observe during the wars unfolding stages. Now that there seemed to be two raving giants in the internet world, by the end on 1995 the Microsoft team had tried to in cooperate their web browser’s Internet Explorer, into their PCs in all their outlets for their windows 95 as a default browser. No longer would users have to go to their local electronics shop and chose from a few competitive options. They would have a browser built right in that, frankly, works almost as well as any other option out there. For free. As seen from most researches, Microsoft did this by use of manipulation and ill motive towards their competitors. It was carried out by hostile pressure that Microsoft put on the manufactures to include Internet Explorer in their platforms, creating a monopoly position for the company. Furthermore, they leveraged their position in the personal computing marketplace by giving away the browser for free to PC manufactures and Internet Service Providers to install into their hardware. How would Netscape’s Navigator counteract this move? This had an adverse effect on them. It was a major blow on their part that the market they once enjoyed would be crippled to almost a monopolistic kind of market. Netscape tried to be more resilient towards those hard times but even it knew the fight was nearing to be lost. In W. Joseph Campbell’s. “The ’90s Startup That Terrified Microsoft and Got Americans to Go Online.” Wired. January 1, 2015, he states that in the months that followed, Netscape Navigator steadily lost market share to Internet Explorer. The company lost $88 million in the fourth quarter of 1997, and its shares shed more than 20 percent of their value, sliding to less than $20. By August 1998, Internet Explorer eclipsed Navigator as the most popular Web browser. In conclusion, the paper finds the dreams of a software engineer crushed by an opponent who used his already position to supersede his expectations and emerge the biggest market shareholder. The final results of this paper suggests that a lot can be learnt in the competitive world; how and when to counterattack is of great importance. Would Netscape bounce back in retaliation?