“Those people are not going to be allowed to take food off our plate, because that is what they are intending to do.”

Impassioned words, coming from the chief operating officer of Microsoft, Kevin Turner, at a company conference. Google has been wading into the world of enterprise search with its Google Search Appliance, which sells for around $2,500 pop. The software allows company employees to search through platforms like intranets, content management systems and file servers.

But Turner, who joined Microsoft from Wal-Mart Stores 11 months ago, was adamant that corporate search is “our house.” “Enterprise search is our business, it’s our house and Google is not going to take that business,” he told 7,000 delegates in Boston.