Rumor has it that Google is dominating the world with its parent company, Alphabet, acquiring large companies across a vast sea of industries. At first glance, the idea of any company dominating the world seems concerning. Especially a company that earns revenue by tracking its users and making that data available to marketers.
However, it’s worth considering that world domination may not be all that bad. In fact, Google’s drive to dominate just might be the best thing to happen to the world in a long, long time.
Google produces unrivaled software
It’s no secret that Google dominates the search engine market, owning 90.8% of all market share. No other search engine compares to Google. Not in design, usability, or algorithm. However, Google’s software contributions go far beyond its search engine.
Google Workspace cultivates strong teams
There are productivity tools – and then there’s Google Workspace. Not only does Google Workspace contain Google Docs that rivals, and in many ways surpasses Microsoft Word, but it includes a host of other tools conveniently accessible in the cloud. The best part is Google’s productivity tools support collaboration.
Being able to collaborate directly in a document in the cloud means nobody has to save and send new versions of files to other team members and then wait for their edits to continue the project.
Combined with a strong company intranet, Google Workspace has the power to increase productivity and drastically reduce the frustration of having to log into multiple accounts just to get a day’s work completed. For teams with deadlines and strict schedules, that’s invaluable.
We would be lost without Google Maps — literally
Google also dominates the map software market with Google Maps. On the surface, Maps seems like any other software program that provides directions to wherever you want to go, but it’s actually much more complex.
Google has spent an incredible amount of time gathering layers and layers of details that it would be impossible for any other map program to compare. For example, you can see details in Google Maps that you will never see in Apple Maps or other similar programs. Google has been mapping the world through aerial imagery literally for years and uses computer software to render distinct shapes of buildings, including backyard sheds and RVs.
Google is the only maps program that displays a street view you can travel down in a sort of virtual tour. Google Maps also identifies areas of interest in cities and colors these areas orange to set them apart for users. Although it hasn’t been confirmed, some believe Google uses data from Places in order to identify the most popular areas in a town, which then automatically colors those buildings orange.
Google dominates by not reinventing the wheel
Although Google can be credited with creating its search engine and Maps program and perhaps a handful of other applications, Google doesn’t create all of the products it uses to dominate industries. For example, Google’s parent company, Alphabet, has acquired hundreds of existing companies it then fully developed into market leaders.
For instance, Alphabet acquired Nest Labs for $3.2 billion in 2014. Nest Labs was originally founded in 2010 by two former Apple developers to create a Wi-Fi enabled, sensor-driven, programmable thermostat. After Google’s acquisition, a smart thermostat became just one of many smart home products available from the Google Home division. Google Nest, as it’s now called, offers smart security alarms, smart security cameras, smart routers, and even smart home assistive devices.
Google certainly didn’t invent or create the original Nest smart thermostat, but acquiring the company and its product added value to existing products and even sparked inspiration for additional smart home devices.
By intentionally choosing not to reinvent the wheel, and instead, to acquire existing businesses, Google is dominating multiple industries yet adding exponential value to the world at the same time.
Domination is a double-edged sword
Naturally, people worry about Google becoming a monopoly in any industry, or even as a jack-of-all-trades. No matter how much value the company provides by acquiring smaller companies, it’s worth pausing to consider the potential negative implications.
At least for now, it seems that Google is acquiring smaller businesses for the purpose of doing more good in the world as opposed to trying to put people out of business. Sometimes, bigger companies buy out smaller companies just to squash their competition.
Technically, Google eliminates competition with every acquisition. However, unlike other corporations that buy out their direct competitors, Google buys companies in every industry and uses the acquired technology to the benefit of the world.