After years of getting slammed by Google in the search stats Microsoft are rumoured to be harbouring a secret weapon. The search market is a colossal cash pie and Google have a large slice. January’s comScore rankings showed Google’s search portion dropping half a percent however still sitting at a whopping 63% compared to Microsoft’s miniscule 8.5%.

As far as these search giants are concerned, high search volumes equate to high bank balances. The more people who use your search engine the higher you can charge for advertising and Google is the undeniable king of search. Their success was achieved by taking original ideas and making them better; more relevant search results in quicker time with less spam.

With Google looking increasing less innovative and more like a corporation exploring how it can earn more money out of what they do already, is the back door open for Microsoft to creep in with Kumo. Translating to spider [or cloud] in Japanese, Kumo is the latest effort from Microsoft to upgrade the underperforming Live Search.