Microsoft exec trash-talks Google -- "they're failing"

Microsoft seems to be turning into the Kevin Garnett of the tech world, doing some serious trash-talking about its competition, in particular Google. In the latest instance, Tom Rizzo, senior director of Microsoft Online Services, says that when it comes to the enterprise, Google is "failing." And then he really lets loose.

Rizzo did his trash-talking in an interview with Computerworld's Sharon Gaudin. The interview focused on Microsoft's cloud-based services, notably the beta of Office 365, as well on what Rizzo sees as Google's shortcomings in the enterprise.

Rizzo starts off his trash-talk in response to an innocuous question, concerning Microsoft's service-level agreement (SLA) about downtime. Rather than start by answering the question, Rizzo instead laced into Google:

"When you look at [Google's] SLA, they don't start counting downtime until 10 minutes of downtime. If they were down for nine minutes, they'd say, "Oh, no, we weren't down according to our SLA, we were up the entire time."

Next, he lights into the privacy concerns people have about Google:

"Well, folks like Google, since they're trying to sell you ads, will scan your data and they keep your data. We don't scan your data. We don't keep your data. If you want your data back, we'll give it back to you and we'll delete it out of our data centers. If you look at it in terms of a comparison, we understand business. They come from a consumer advertising standpoint. They need data so they know what ads to service you that you'll click on."

Throughout the interview, Rizzo keeps up the drumbeat that Google doesn't understand the enterprise. He bluntly says that when it comes to the enterprise:

"I would say that they're failing, yes. I would say that the results have not shown that they're successful in the space."

Rizzo also criticizes Google for its privacy policies. He says that when it comes to privacy, "I'm not one to throw stones." Then, though, he goes on to start throwing them:

"Google sometimes is their own worst enemy. The Street View stuff isn't helping them."

You may think that some of what Rizzo has to say is over the top, but I, for one, welcome this kind of talk. Except for a few notable exceptions, such as Steve Jobs, most execs in the tech industry criticize their competitors in only the most subtle of ways, often using coded language rather than straight talk. Rizzos' trash-talk is refreshing.

As for the content of what he has to say, he's often on target in this interview. It's true that Google is far behind Microsoft when it comes to the enterprise, and remains primarily consumer-centric. And it's also true that when it comes to privacy, Google has serious problems as well. Microsoft can back up its trash-talk when it comes to enterprise dominance -- they've far ahead of Google.