Microsoft’s Yusuf Mehdi announced the new partnership on Wednesday through a blog post.
Advertisement
This means that Redmond gives up on Bing for China, so whenever local Windows 10 users fire up Edge browser, not only are they provided with instant access to Baidu’s homepage, but they can also search the web with the very same service. In March, Microsoft told Reuters that it would upgrade “all qualified PCs, genuine and non-genuine, to Windows 10”, but the specifics have been confusing. Internet users who are hoping for Windows 10 on the China search engine will be guided to advertisement page of Windows 10 on top of their screens, which will then take users to a special Windows 10 download site, Baidu said. The subsidiaries will in this way receive training and certification from Microsoft for the latest technology for Windows deployment, support and best practices. More than half of Baidu’s revenue and traffic is stemming from mobile users, where Android and iOS are the operating systems of choice.
The Baidu partnership is just one of many which Microsoft has made with Chinese companies and government institutions this year including as deal with electronics company, Xiaomi, that will see the firm use Microsoft’s Windows Azure.
Microsoft is cosying up with Chinese search engine Baidu in a deal which will see it ditch Bing as the default browser for Windows in the Middle Kingdom.
Baidu has over 600 million active users globally, so Microsoft was wise to concede on this front. While, Microsoft’s Windows OS has a significant desktop presence there, the awkward level of nationwide piracy obscures Microsoft ability to monetize its efforts in the area effectively.
That is 13.3% of the total official Windows 10 installs so far.
“If Google can’t win the search market in China, then Microsoft can’t”, Mr Sullivan said.
Advertisement
Microsoft told Search Engine Land that Cortana, the digital agent within Windows devices, will continue to be powered by Bing. Baidu webpage will also feature universal Windows applications for search, maps, and other cloud-based products. However, the company believes that a big number of people were using either older version or pirated versions of its OS. The deal with Baidu is a major tailwind for Microsoft’s future in China’s fast-growing digital advertising business.
