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He didn't mention Microsoft as the specific threat, but when the CFO of Google cited a need for lots of cash to help fend off a bigger, richer competitor, Microsoft's name did come up.

When George Reyes spoke recently at an investor conference in New York, he made reference to the "aggressive hiring" Google has undertaken to increase its size, Dow Jones Newswires reported. That hiring helps grow the search advertising company and puts it in a better position to face the Microsoft threat.

"Our objective is to get to substantial scale as quickly as possible," Reyes said to attendees, because that lets you "brace yourself to compete with anybody, within reason." He also told the audience that the secondary IPO Google conducted was intended to build "a defensive war chest" to help Google face competitors.

"The view of the management team, supported by the board, was there was at least one very large competitor that could inflict a lot of damage on us, and why not take the money when it was available to buffer any storm that might come downstream for us," he said.

Right now, though, Microsoft isn't causing any sleepless nights around the Googleplex. Reyes said Bill Gates' company and the challenge it poses is more on the horizon than immediate.

David Utter is a staff writer for WebProNews covering technology and business. Email him here.