The Challenge of Being Google

Abstract

It must be a challenge being Google these days. In barely 15 years, Google has gone from a tech start-up founded by a couple of grad students, to one of the most dominant forces in the information industry. Its market capitalization of over a quarter of a trillion – that’s “T”-trillion – dollars makes it bigger than tech pioneer Microsoft. It ranked at number 73 on the 2012 Fortune 500, as measured by its annual revenue, up there with long established names like DuPont, John Deere and Philip Morris. In its core search business, a recent survey shows that it commands a 67% market share for search engine use in the U.S. and around the world. It’s also expanded its technology portfolio well beyond its original search engine services to develop widely used products and services like the Android smartphone platform, as well as consumer apps and services like Gmail, Google Earth, Picasa, Google Translate and the Google Chrome web browser. It is plays a role in content creation and hosting information services Google Scholar and the Google Books project and its ownership of YouTube. Its purchase of Motorola Mobility and the development of the Chromebook computer have brought it into the hardware business. Finally, Google has also been moving into enterprise and cloud computing arenas through its Google Apps services and Google Search Appliance. Yet it does not seem like a week goes by without a headline the media about legal complaints, investigations or settlements of investigations against Google. For a company that started with the motto, “Don’t be evil”, Google seems to be making a lot of people mad.