Background
This case study overviews the brief history of Google Inc. and its recent developments as a multidimensional company. The company was founded by enthusiasts who wanted to make a better world with the power of technology (Morrison, 2017). However, Morrison explains that Google might have derailed from its initial mission when its actions and decisions became politically motivated (Morrison, 2017). The author of this article poses a question regarding the changes in the structure of the firm that makes it look more conventional and in line with other megacorporations (Morrison, 2017). This essay will discuss this question, as well as review what issues the company is facing nowadays and in the near future.
Is Google a Conventional Company?
While the company began to incorporate more traditional practices due to its maturation process, it remains largely unconventional since it strives to stay true to its original purpose. Levy (2011), who wrote a book about Google’s inner workings, states that the proposals by the company visionaries were “crazy” and in the field of “science fiction more than computer science” (p. 35). A significant proton of the firm’s efforts remains aimed at the ideas that might revolutionize society, such as Google X projects, AI research, self-driving cars, and others (Ward, 2018). While it does focus more on wealth accumulation than before, Google remains a visionary company whose efforts extend beyond revenue increase.
Challenges
Google’s approach creates strategic challenges for every new project that are not always resolved. Innovations lie in the core of the firm, and its users expect to see truly creative products from it. However, the company needs to develop new products with the idea of how to capitalize on their existence while incorporating their functions in its periphery. For example, as Google is considered the most helpful website on the Internet, it remains strongly linked to its search engine in its customers’ perceptions (Levy, 2011). It uses data from searches to form personalized advertisements for users, and similar links must be created for every innovation that Google introduces.
The company has to deal with a massive amount of personal data, which creates its own set of challenges. The primary source of revenue for Google is its advertisement and cloud storage and computation services (Ward, 2018). These services are supported by the data that is created by the search engine, e-mail services, YouTube, and other sources of personal data that can be processed for the improvement of advertisement algorithms (Ward, 2018). However, it becomes difficult for the company to incorporate its regular advertisement strategies in new products, and privacy regulations become harsher annually (Ward, 2018). Google must resolve its advertisement-centric revenue to prevent growth slowdown.
Google and Politics
Nowadays, Google often has to be an active participant in political matters. Governmental regulations continue to have a significant impact on Google and its revenue streams(Ward, 2018). Moreover, its algorithms in the search engine and the video-sharing service are usable as a means of political leverage (Morrison, 2017). While I believe that the company must not take any side and aim to diminish its role in politics, it has to work closely with governments on many issues, which makes compromises that benefit the company acceptable.
Recommendations
The primary goal of this corporation must remain intact for it to continue its rapid growth. Google excels at innovations, and its size allows it to sustain any losses from failed experiments, such as Google Health. Being one of the flagships of an entire IT section of the global market, this firm’s main objective is to keep its position via new startup projects, such as Deep Mind. Google has created a highly diversified portfolio that revolves around IT technologies, and it can benefit significantly from the continuous expansion of the R&D department.
The market for streaming services has been expanding rapidly in the past decade. Google has its own services with similar functions, namely, Google Play Music and YouTube Red. However, the market share of the company on the streaming audio and video markets remains low (Ward, 2018). By focusing on the expansion of these services, Google can attract a significant portion of users to its platforms.
Google has to work on the interconnectivity of its services to provide a better customer experience and capitalize on the opportunities that are currently missing. For example, Google voice assistant software is integrated into its devices, yet the company has issues with its inability to utilize it for advertisements (Ward, 2018). New projects developed by Google X must aim to release the company from being bound to advertisement revenues.
Another underdeveloped field of IT technology that Google yet has to conquer is the hardware market. Nowadays, the company has to rely on its partners who, for example, utilize Android to deliver a top-notch user experience. Its previous attempts to join the market for hardware devices with the introduction of Google Glass have drawn tremendous attention to the company, yet it failed to produce a sustainable product (Ward, 2018). Google’s attempts to revive this branch of the company can attract a significant number of new users.
Finally, the company must resolve its dispute with China to retain access to a billion active Internet users. Google is already knowledgeable in communications with governmental organizations, and this portion of the market needs to be secured if the company aims to achieve 3 billion users. Being open-source software, Google’s Android OS saw great success on the smartphone market, and it is actively used by numerous Chinese phone manufacturers, which can serve as a way to establish a peaceful dialogue.
References
Levy, S. (2011). In the Plex: How Google thinks, works, and shapes our lives. Simon & Schuster.
Morrison, J. (2017). The global business environment (4th ed.). Palgrave.
Ward, M. (2018). The future of Google. Better Marketing. Web.