Four Pillars: Google versus Microsoft: Avoiding, not exploiting

The 13th May issue of the Economist, in its Leaders section, has an article entitled Is Google the new Microsoft?

One quote stands out. Full attribution to the Economist and all that jazz.
“…in the new era of internet services, open standards predominate, rivals are always just a click away, and there is far less scope for companies to establish a proprietary lock-in.

Try to avoid using Microsoft’s software for a day, particularly if you work in an office, and you will have difficulty; but surviving a day without Google is relatively easy.”

There is a very important point being made here, one that I feel the Economist has missed. It is in the context of “scope for companies to establish a proprietary lock-in”.

Google and its ecosystem partners do not succeed despite the prevalence of open standards.

They succeed because of them.

To succeed tomorrow, you have to avoid lock-in, not exploit it.