GOOGLE

 Google LLC is an American multinational technology company focusing on search engine technology, online
advertising, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing and few other.
 It has been referred to as “the most powerful company in the world”  and one of the world’s most valuable
brands due to its market dominance, data collection, and technological advantages in the area of artificial
intelligence.
 Its parent company Alphabet is considered one of the Big Five American information technology companies,
alongside Amazon, Apple, Meta, and Microsoft.
 Google was founded on September 4, 1998, by Larry Page and Sergey Brin while they were PhD students
at Stanford University in California.
 In 2015, Google was reorganized as a wholly owned subsidiary of Alphabet Inc. Google is Alphabet's largest
subsidiary and is a holding company for Alphabet's Internet properties and interests. Sundar Pichai was
appointed CEO of Google on October 24, 2015, replacing Larry Page, who became the CEO of Alphabet. On
December 3, 2019, Pichai also became the CEO of Alphabet.
 STRENGTHS
Most innovative search engine
Google’s search engine is considered the smartest of all and while several more search engines are there,
google enjoys the largest share in the search engine market. According to Statista, Google dominates the search
engine market and its share in October 2019 was close to 88%. There are several more search engines in the
market including Microsoft’s Bing and market-specific search engines like Baidu in China. However, Google is still
the most preferred search engine of users worldwide because of its smarter and innovative algorithms. It is the
world’s most advanced search engine and at the core of Google’s multi-billion advertising empire.
Advertising revenue
• In 2021, Google's ad revenue amounted to 209.49 billion U.S. dollars. The company generates advertising revenue
through its Google Ads platform, which enables advertisers to display ads, product listings and service offerings across
Google’s extensive ad network (properties, partner sites, and apps) to web users.
• Advertising accounts for the majority of Google’s revenue, which amounted to a total of 256.73 billion U.S. dollars in 2021
. The majority of Google's advertising revenue comes from search advertising.
Digital advertising
• Online advertising is the main source of revenue for Google which is currently the leading player in the digital
advertising industry. While Amazon has gained a little in the digital advertising industry, the market share of
Google in the digital advertising industry is still substantial. According to sources, Google held a market share
of more than 73% in the search advertising industry in 2019. Facebook and Google currently together hold the
largest share in the overall digital advertising industry worldwide. In 2018, Google’s revenue from advertising
was $$116,318 million which was around $21 billion higher than the previous year.
 WEAKNESS
Privacy concerns and resulting damage
• Google has faced a lot of controversy related to user privacy. However, not just Google, Facebook another
leading player in the online industry has also been through a lot of controversy and legal tussle related to user
privacy on its platform. In December 2018, CEO Sunder Pichai appeared before Congress to respond upon
several issues related to privacy, censorship and user data. These issues have continued and the company had
to close several projects including the Dragonfly project.
Employee issues
• While Google has since its foundation focused upon employee satisfaction and motivation, the CEO Sunder
Pichai recently publicly accepted that the company was dealing with employee discontent. Employee protests
inside Google grew stronger towards the end of 2018. During November 2018, more than 20,000 Google
employees walked out of their offices to protest against sexual assault and other forms of alleged misconduct.
Employee protests were also related to other issues like workplace culture and Google’s projects with the US
military and the Dragonfly project.
Poor Pricing Strategy
• On June 30, 2020, Google raised the subscription price of its YouTube TV service from $49.99
to $64.99 per month. According to Google, the $15 increase (30%) reflects the rising cost of content, but critics
argue that the increase is absurd. Most streaming services like Netflix, Disney+, and Peacock offer more content
than the 80 TV channels offered by YouTube and charge between $5 and $15. Google can lose a majority of
the 2 million YouTube subscribers due to the price hike.
 OPPORTUNITIES
Cloud Computing
• Google’s revenue from cloud computing has grown a lot in the last year. However, it still holds a small market
share in the entire industry which is currently led by Amazon and Microsoft. However, the increased use of cloud-
based technology products globally has shown that the cloud industry is poised for faster growth. While Google
has brought a large range of cloud computing products, its main focus was digital advertising and the company
remained lagging behind the leading players in the area of cloud computing. The company should focus upon
making its cloud computing products more accessible and affordable to grow its revenue from them.
AI, Machine learning and emerging technologies
• Google has also introduced a large range of AI and Machine learning products. These are some areas where
the company can find more growth opportunities. Moreover, wearable technologies and autonomous driving are
also generating a high level of interest. Google has already invested in autonomous driving through its Waymo 
platform.
Continuous updates to Android OS
• One opportunity is the Android operating system. It has become a major competitor
to Samsung and Apple. Users prefer the customization offered by Android phones — something iOS
devices lack. Although Samsung phones run Android phones, it takes months for the phones to
catch up on system updates — Google phones, however, receive updates immediately.
 THREATS
Competition
• Google is facing intense competition from other companies including Microsoft, Amazon and Facebook which
are the leading rivals of Google.  Microsoft apart from search advertising where it enjoys a comparably very
small market share competes with Google in the area of cloud computing. However, Microsoft and Amazon both
have very large market shares in the area of cloud computing compared to Google. Facebook is also a leading
competitor of Google in the area of digital advertising as well as mobile advertising.
Trade wars
• The trade wars between the US and China are also causing operational costs to escalate and related
challenges grow for the technology businesses.  The company is already dealing with several difficulties in the
Chinese market including the controversial project Dragonfly. Now, the tariffs are driving operational costs
higher for all the leading players including Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Google, and Facebook.