Category
Google was founded by Sergey Brin and Larry Page in 1997. The company has grown over the years to become of the world’s most powerful companies. Google, which is basically a tech company, is classified under the Standard Industrial Classification code 7370. This refers to a section of the service sector of the U.S economy that deals in computer programming and data processing, among others. Other companies that fall under this classification include American Toner Serve and Vape Holdings. According to the North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS), which is more modernized, Google falls under industry 519130. This refers to ‘internet publishing and broadcasting and web search portals”. This clearly segregates it from the general information sector that traditionally relates to recording studios, newspapers, and libraries. NAICS recognized Google under a distinct industry group known as "other information services." All other websites fall under this classification.
Google underwent restructuring on October 2, 2015, that resulted in the establishment of Alphabet Inc., which then became Google’s parent company (Eccles & Krzus, 2018). Alphabet is ranked fourth among the world’s largest technology entities by revenue. It has since grown to establish itself as one of the world’s most valuable companies. The two co-founders have since resigned from their executive posts but remain controlling shareholders and board members of Alphabet Inc.
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Main Competitors
In modern technological space, Google has proved to be one of the most innovative companies worldwide. It majorly served to organize multivariable and diverse information and ensures its accessibility globally. Over the years, the company has seemingly grown and expanded its operations to touch different advertising, entertainment, science, and other sectors. As such, it has to deal with various competitors who offer similar products and services. Google is a leading provider of online search services in terms of volume and market. Its market share is approximately 94 percent of search engines' total users (Gossen, 2015). This puts it ahead of all its competitors in this aspect and generates significant revenue through ads. Its closest competitor in search engines is Yahoo, which only commands a market share of 2.32 percent (Gossen, 2015). Other competitors include Bing, which is tech giant Microsoft's search engine, and AOL. However, countries like China have banned Google from operating within its borders and, as such, have alternative search engines like Baidu, which has significant market share.
The entertainment field has increased Google’s revenue significantly over the years. Since the acquisition of YouTube in 2006, the video content platform has mostly brought in revenue from advertisements. This revenue was approximately 15.15 billion U.S dollars for the 2019 financial year (Cunningham & Silver, 2013). With the increase in demand for online streaming platforms and services, there has been the emergence of other competitors who aim at capturing a portion of the market share. These include Hulu, Walt Disney Company, Netflix, and Vimeo, among others. The fact that YouTube is free to use and has a low access barrier gives it an edge over its other rivals like Netflix, which operates on a subscription basis (Gossen, 2015) . It is also more user-based because users upload videos, making it available and accessible to all content creators. This is why it boasts of so many users as opposed to its other competitors. YouTube also faces competition from other social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter (Hillis, 2012) . The social media platforms have also attracted a considerable share of the revenue from the advertisement sector.
Google also has a subdivision that deals with autonomous vehicles known as Waymo. Its mission is to create a world that would be transformed by self-driving cars. The company wants to utilize the advancements made in technology to make this possible. It aims to come up with a safer vehicle that minimizes traffic accidents significantly and reshapes urban transportation. Its competitors in this sector include Uber, which runs a similar project, Tesla, and Zoox. Google also competes with other companies like tech giant Oracle, semiconductor giant Intel, software company PTC, Compuware, and network optimizer F5 Networks. Others include American icon IBM, Cisco Systems, and Microsoft.
Emerging Competition
Google might face competition from search competitors like Yandex or Baidu, which have successfully captured the market share in Russia and China, respectively. These two pose a threat, especially when markets are becoming crucial players in the world economy.
There is also the possibility of the emergence of a new search powerhouse that would use far much better technology than Google’s. A new actor that would understand what the internet population wants, just like Google's clean interface in the '90s, will pose a major competition. This will pose a bigger threat to Google, especially if the startup is acquired by another major company to steer its rise.
Vertical engines might also offer competition to Google soon if people's web searching habits evolve. Platforms like Zillow, Expedia, and iMedix are all hopeful that people will, in the future opt, to turn to them directly when they want to access services like traveling, real estate, or health care. This will give them a comparative edge over Google.
References
Cunningham, S., & Silver, J. (2013). The players, part one: YouTube/Google. Screen Distribution and the New King Kongs of the Online World , 66-78. doi.org/10.1057/9781137326454_5
Eccles, R. G., & Krzus, M. P. (2018). Constructing alphabet Inc.'s 2017 Mock integrated report. SSRN Electronic Journal . https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3206290
Gossen, T. (2015). Usability of existing search engines for young users. Search Engines for Children , 65-78. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-12069-6_4
Hillis, K. (2012). Google and the culture of search. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203846261
