Now that at least one study suggests Microsoft has overtaken Netscape Communications in the browser market, the company owns the top position in every major consumer computing market. Except one.
In personal finance, the name to know remains Intuit. The company's Quicken software is the clear winner in the category, despite Microsoft's attempts to unseat it.
The two have a history. Microsoft tried to buy Intuit back in 1994, but the plans were nixed by the government. When that failed, Microsoft returned to its normal turtle vs. hare strategy, where it consistently improves its products over time and eventually passes its competitors. While the strategy worked with Windows, Word and other Microsoft products, so far it has failed to catch Quicken.
While Microsoft has made some slight gains, mostly in the retail sales, "the market is Quicken's to lose," said Chris LeTocq, analyst at research firm Dataquest. "Microsoft is going to have to leverage their online presence, because I don't think they can beat Quicken in retail."
Beyond retail
Quicken's dominance in retail does not give the full picture, however. Users often simply take whatever comes with their PC or whatever their bank is giving away. This becomes an important factor when one considers that between them, Microsoft and Intuit have some 13 million customers, a tiny figure compared to the number of families with bank accounts.
Microsoft may have an advantage down the road. In its corner is the fact that many users simply use what comes with their computer, and Microsoft says more PCs come with its software.
"The momentum is with us," said Richard Bray, product unit manager at Microsoft.
Coke vs. Pepsi
So the fight centers on convincing new users that Intuit or Money is the product to go with. That makes marketing, not technology, the battlefield.
