Abstract
Google, the worlds most popular search engine, is continuing its business
growth and is starting to push into the mobile and wireless markets with
increasing focus. The company, synonymous with web searching, sees the mobile
and wireless sectors as highly important areas for growth as more users will
be accessing the internet through these mediums. With a company like Google,
known for its innovation, user-friendliness and market challenging approach,
any moves into a related industry must be closely examined, monitored and
analysed by those already in the industry. In this report, visiongain explores
Googles strategy in both mobile and wireless in the medium-term future, and
discusses the significant opportunities and threats that the company poses to
current industry players.
How will Google affect your operations? Should you be working with the company
to leverage its expertise in search and other related services? Or will
Googles products disrupt your business? Either way, you need to assess how its
entry will impact the mobile and wireless industries.
With a number of specific and beta-phase, mobile search product offerings,
Google has already entered the mobile and wireless sectors. This product
development is set to grow, and with a serious marketing and collaborative
push the search giant could have a significant impact on the current status
quo in these markets.
Google Mobile is the companys own offering to the mobile/cellular world,
allowing the usage of Googles internet search engine on mobile devices. More
products are being introduced to Google Mobile, including access to Gmail, an
SMS query service and Local Search options. As the advertising-led product
offerings are free, Google can already be seen as a threat to some mobile
content providers. With mobile operators outsourcing content production and
portal management, how do the services offered by Google fit with the key
product areas provided to subscribers already? How can operators and
manufacturers make the most of this?
The company has already partnered with operators, including Vodafone and
T-Mobile, and manufacturers, including Motorola and Sony Ericsson, to provide
Google search and is becoming more heavily involved in product development for
the mobile market. Which service areas will Google focus on? Where do new
mobile services fit with Googles existing strengths? What are the implications
of Googles partnerships with operators and manufacturers? Which operators or
manufacturers will benefit most from a deal with Google? And which stand to
lose the most? By purchasing this report, you will find the answers to these
questions.
In addition to cellular, Google has also made some interesting moves into the
Wi-Fi market too. The company provides free wireless coverage to its hometown
of Mountain View in Silicon Valley, and has also combined with ISP Earthlink
to win the bid for Municipal Wi-Fi coverage of nearby San Francisco. In this
deal, Google will offer free wireless coverage to the city. With Google
already offering its own VoIP service, Google Talk, this report shows how the
company can be considered a threat to US mobile and fixed operators. Do you
know what other moves Google has made towards this end? How will this affect
your business? What would be the implications if Google adopted the first
wide-scale Wireless Virtual Network Operator model?
This 80+ page report answers key questions, such as:
- What are Googles strategic visions and future plans in Mobile and Wireless?
- How will Googles business model translate to these two areas?
- What are Googles current areas of activity in this space?
- What strategies and opportunities are open to Google in mobile and
wireless?
- Will Google enter the MVNO market, or continue to market its search
services through partnerships?
- What are the implications of Googles potential WVNO plans in the US and
Europe?
Why you should buy this report:
- Operators Google is a potential threat to your business, through VoIP
over Google wireless networks, as well as mobile search and content provision.
You need to understand the impact that Google will have. By reading this
report, you will be able to determine whether you should be partnering with
Google or strategically assessing its entry into the market from a distance.
- Handset Manufacturers Assess the usefulness of incorporating Google onto
handsets and whether or not this could have detrimental affects. Understand
the importance of Google to the user experience and the mobile internet. Learn
whether the Google brand will be more important to operator and end-user
customers than your own brand
- Mobile Content Providers Find out how Google will be in competition in
areas such as mobile email, LBS and search. Gain insight into how Google will
approach the market and how you can best react.
- Search Engines and IT companies - Googles strategy to diversify outside of
the confines of the fixed-line internet into mobile and wireless is one that
needs to be studied - whether it is a serious competitive threat, one to
emulate or simply to provide inspiration for broadening your approach to
mobile and wireless. Understand how Google will expand its business model even
further.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1 Executive Summary
- 1.1 Google's Internet Success
- 1.2 Googles Mobile Services
- 1.3 Googles Wireless Services
- 1.4 Googles Future Strategies in Mobile and Wireless
Chapter 2 Introduction
- 2.1 Google - Synonymous with Success
- Chart 2.1: Internet Search Engine Market Share by %, 2005
- 2.2 Google - A Brief History
- Table 2.1: Google Fast Facts, 2005
- 2.3 Methodology
- 2.4 Focus of this report
Chapter 3 Google Current Model and Services
- 3.1 Google
- 3.1.1 Google is
- 3.1.2 Not a Portal
- 3.2 Current Business Strategy
- 3.2.1 A Unique Business Approach
- Chart 3.1: Google Annual Revenue 2001-2005
- 3.2.1.1 Google AdWords
- 3.2.1.2 Google AdSense
- 3.2.1.3 Advertising Importance to Google and the Threat to Other
Industries
- Chart 3.2: Googles Advertising Revenue as % of Total, 2005
- 3.2.2 Google IPO
- Chart 3.3: Google Share Price, IPO vs Q2 2006 Public Offering
- 3.2.2.1 Importance of Public Offerings to Google
- 3.2.3 Acquisitions
- Table 3.1: Google Acquisitions
- 3.2.4 Google Culture
- 3.2.4.1 20% Time for Engineers
- 3.2.4.2 Work Ratio for other Employees
- Table 3.2: Google 70%-20%-10% Time
- 3.3 Core Business - Internet Search
- 3.3.1 A Unique Approach to Internet Search
- 3.3.2 Ease of Use
- 3.3.3 Search History
- 3.3.4 Special Searches
- 3.4 Other Business Areas
- 3.4.1 Google News
- 3.4.2 Gmail
- 3.4.3 Google Maps
- 3.4.4 Google Local
- 3.4.5 Personalised Homepage
- 3.4.6 Froogle
- 3.4.7 Google Blogger and Blog Search
- 3.4.8 Google Calendar
- 3.5 Google's Main Rivals
- 3.5.1 Yahoo!
- 3.5.1.1 Yahoo Mobile
- 3.5.2 Microsoft
- 3.5.3 Googles Rivals Overview
- Table 3.3: Google Main Rivals by Business Area
- 3.5.2.1 Microsoft in Mobile
- 3.6 Googles Current Activities Summary
- Figure 3.1: Google SWOT Analysis
Chapter 4 Google Mobile
- 4.1 Why has Google Entered the Mobile Landscape?
- Chart 4.1: Proportional Revenue, Voice and Data, ($)
- Chart 4.2: Global Mobile Data Revenues, 2006-2011
- 4.2 Google Mobile
- 4.2.1 Google Mobile Background
- Table 4.1: Technologies Available for Google Mobile
- 4.2.2 Google Mobile Internet and Image Search
- 4.2.2.1 Google Mobile WebSearch
- 4.2.2.2 Google Mobile Local Search
- 4.2.2.3 Google Mobile Search User Interface
- 4.2.3 Other Google Mobile Features
- 4.2.3.1 Google Personalised Home
- 4.2.3.2 Google News
- 4.2.3.3 Google SMS
- Table 4.2: Google Mobile Services
- 4.2.3.4 Mobile Gmail
- 4.2.4 Revenue from Google Mobile
- 4.2.4.1 Japanese Advertising Trial
- 4.3 Google Mobile Industry Deals
- 4.3 Google in Mobile Issue for the Industry
- 4.3.1 T-Mobile
- Table 4.3: Typical Mobile Portal Features
- 4.3.2 Vodafone Deal
- Chart 4.3: European Mobile Advertising Revenues, 2006-2011
- 4.3.3 Motorola
- 4.3.4 Sony Ericsson
- 4.3.5 BenQ-Siemens
- 4.3.6 Others
- 4.4 Google Mobile Summary
- Table 4.4: Google Desktop Services for Mobile
Chapter 5 Google Wireless
- 5.1 Why has Google entered Wireless?
- 5.1.1 Impact upon Existing Wireless and Mobile Companies
- 5.2 Google Wireless Ventures
- 5.2.1 Google Wifi in Mountain View
- 5.2.2 Google in San Francisco
- Table 5.1: Google / Earthlink San Francisco Wifi Proposal
- 5.3 Google Wireless Advertising Model
- 5.3.1 Google Patents for Wireless Advertising
- Table 5.2: Google Wireless Advertising Patents
- 5.4 Google Wifi Investment in Fon
- 5.5 Google Talk and VoIP
- 5.6 Google Wireless Summary
Chapter 6 Google Future Strategies for Mobile and Wireless
- 6.1 Google: A Secretive Giant
- 6.2 Google Mobile Market Future
- Chart 6.1: Global Data ARPU Forecast in US Dollars, 2006-2011
- 6.2.1 Google Mobile
- 6.2.1.1 Google Mobile Search and Location Based Advertising
- Chart 6.2: Average Internet Queries per User Session
- 6.2.1.1.1 Acquisitions to Boost Google Mobile Search
- 6.2.1.1.2 More PC Based Google Services to Mobile
- 6.2.1.1.3 Google Video for Mobile
- Chart 6.3: Shipments of Video Playing Enabled Handsets, 2006-2011
- 6.2.1.2 New Google Services for Mobile
- 6.2.1.2.1 Google Voice Search
- Table 6.1: Google Patent for Voice Search Technology
- 6.2.1.2.2 Google Commerce for Mobile
- 6.2.2 Google Growth Through Mobile Partnerships
- Table 6.2: Google's Current Mobile Partnerships
- 6.2.3 Google as an MVNO?
- Table 6.3: Google Attributes for MVNO Status
- 6.2.4 Google Branded Handset?
- 6.3 Google Wireless Future
- 6.3.1 Why would Google Provide Networks?
- 6.3.2 Google Business Model A Threat Through Wireless
- 6.3.2.1 Google Wireless Data Services Threat
- 6.3.2.2 Google Wireless Voice Services Threat
- 6.3.3 Concerns Surrounding Google Wireless
- 6.3.4 Google Wireless Overview
- 6.4 Google Growth
- Table 6.4: Forecast Timeline of Google Mobile and Wireless Strategy,
2006-2008
- 6.4.1 Google Search Market Share Forecast
- Chart 6.4: Google Internet Search Market Share Forecast, 2006-2011
- 6.4.2 Google Revenue Forecast
- Chart 6.5: Google Market Share 2006
- Chart 6.6: Google Market Share 2011
Chapter 7 Conclusions and Recommendations
- 7.1 Conclusions
- 7.1.1 Is Google a Threat to The Mobile Industry?
- 7.2 Recommendations
- 7.2.1 For Google
- 7.2.2 For Operators
- 7.2.3 For Manufacturers
Appendix A Lead authors profile
Appendix B About visiongain
Appendix C Report evaluation form
Companies and organisations mentioned in this report
- AOL
- Altavista
- Amazon
- Android
- Apple
- Applied Semantics
- Ask
- AT&T
- BenQ-Siemens
- Carnegie Mellon University
- CBS
- Columbia University
- Deja
- dMarc Broadcasting
- DoCoMo
- DodgeBall
- Earthlink
- eBay
- EMI
- European Commission
- Fon
- HTC
- Index Ventures
- Jajah
- Kaltix
- Lycos
- Microsoft
- Motorola
- Net2Phone
- Nokia
- Palm
- PayPal
- Picasa
- Pyra Labs
- Reqwireless
- Sequoia Capital
- Skype
- Sony
- Sony Ericsson
- TiVo
- T-Mobile
- Universal
- Vodafone
- VoiceSearch
- Where2
- Yahoo
