Ballmer: We Will Win on the Web

At the company's annual Financual Analyst Meeting Thursday, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer had no qualms about boasting his expectation that Microsoft will win on the Web just as it did on the desktop. While MSN may be struggling to keep up with Google and Yahoo, Ballmer said the Web is now a top priority for Microsoft.

"When you look at the last 10 years, we have won on the desktop. I think a lot of people can now fairly say, with what we've done with Windows Server, we have won in the business marketplace. And now we really are going to win on the Web," Ballmer said in his presentation.

At the center of Microsoft's new strategy is the company's currently in beta adCenter product, which will enable companies to easily place advertisements across MSN properties. The first component of adCenter is paid text links on MSN Search.

"We'll expand our services so that we become the number one place to advertise. We tend to offer not just the best search engine, but really the strongest overall array of online services. There will only be a handful of major players in the ad market, and you can rest assured this company will be one of them," Ballmer added.

Eventually, adCenter will serve as the one-stop shop for advertising on any Microsoft owned Web site. The focus will be on targeting specific users by age, gender, location, and interest - a feature not yet available from the company's rivals.

"There are billions of Internet users around the world. And if you get nothing else out of the whole day today, we are very, very, very serious and committed about driving our presence with that community, versus any and all competitors in the marketplace. It is a big opportunity for us," Ballmer said.

"It is a job-one priority for our company, this transformation to services and the competition that it brings with Yahoo! and Google and everybody else."