(AdAge.com) -- Given the bid Microsoft made for Yahoo last month, it's not surprising that the software giant's executives believe that when it comes to ad platforms, their only rival is Google. And that's the message they're taking to publishers.

"There are only two players who can really compete in this space in the long term," said Brian McAndrews, Microsoft senior VP-advertiser and publisher solutions, to the crowd of 400 gathered for the first conference organized around the Interactive Advertising Bureau's Annual Meeting. The space he was speaking about is that of an end-to-end ad platform -- an integral part of today's web.