Ovum says Facebook+Skype is Google's nightmare

Alex Zaharov-Reutt
Friday, 08 July 2011 10:22

Your IT - Home IT

With Google+ getting tons of kudos while not even being widely available yet, Facebook’s surprise tie-up with Skype for video calling could give Google some sleepless nights.

Respected analyst firm Ovum has come out with some commentary over Facebook’s recent announcement of a further tie-up with instant messaging and Internet telephony company, Skype.

Facebook and Skype’s deal has helped to soften a little of the bubbling excitement over Google+, with Google managing to do a bit of an Apple in making Google+ invitations very hard to get and thus much more valuable.

There’s also the very much in-your-face issue of Facebook now claiming 750 million members, with Google probably yet to reach 75,000 accounts, let alone 750,000, 7.5m or 75m members.

So, what does Ovum have to say?

One of its analysts, Eden Zoller, states that: “The Facebook/ Skype tie up brings together two of the most popular communications service providers online and the video chat feature should prove a hit with Facebook’s 750 million users.”

Ms Zoller continued: “We would also expect the Facebook’s video chat service to develop a strong mobile play given that at least half of Facebook’s user base interact with the social network via mobile and also because Microsoft is determined to take Skype in this direction.” 

She concluded by noting that: “A deepening Facebook, Microsoft and Skype alliance is on the cards and is a powerful prospect and one that will keep Google awake at night.”

Of course, Google’s sleep patterns will probably be all over the place until Google+ launches far more broadly, and even then, Google will need to be hard at work promoting Google+ and getting as many people to use it as possible.

After all, it might be nice for some of the digerati out there who were “lucky” enough to get an initial invite to have transferred some of their large Facebook friends groups over to Google+, but until you or I join the system, Google+ will be a ghost town in comparison with Facebook’s bustling online metropolis.

Still, Google does know how to make some of its services ultra popular, and given Google has had many goes in getting a social networking service right, with Google+ looking the best so far, it will be no surprise to see many more people decide to go ogle Google+ properly once the invitation limitations are lifted.

The ball’s now firmly in Google’s court, with the pressure now on to release Google+ more widely, because until they do, not having access to Google+ (irrespective of whether they actually use it properly, or not) will start becoming like Google- for all those still waiting.