Monday, July 28, 2008

Inside GoogleTM India

Globally, technology giants Microsoft and Yahoo are fighting a ghastly battle to combine forces and topple Google from its eminent position in the online search and advertisement space. In the meanwhile, we see what’s cooking at Google India and how the company plans to imitate its global success in the capricious Indian market. By DEVDEEP SINGH
But he admits that there is a hitch here. Internet penetration in India is still laughably low as compared to other major nations. According to Internet world statistics, Internet penetration in India is only 5.3%, as opposed to the US, which boasts 71% penetration levels (Brazil has 22.4% penetration, while China has 15.9%). Rao understands that the government must do something immediately to massively increase Internet penetration. “We will lose an entire generation of skilled and talented manpower if every student in senior school and college right now doesn’t get access to the Internet.” Of course, Rao is hopeful that Google will play a role in duplicating the stupendous success of the Indian telecom market in the Internet space. And that is when money will start flowing in.

According to Rao, Google India is really about launching services and products that will be a technology-enabler for ‘inclusive growth.’ This is probably why Google India, as well as Google Global, is neither interested nor engaged in special activities to promote or push its brand. “Our view is that what people pursue is the function of accumulation of experiences that one has had with a product. The product that you deliver should provide value to people. We have to organise information so that it’s available to everybody in this market,” explains Rao.

But then, there’s a growing notion that Google is heading the way other technology giants have; it’s slowly, but surely, losing its innovation edge. Rao denies this quickly: “I feel the entrepreneurial spirit in the company is as alive as it was when I joined three years back. In fact, the entrepreneurial ambition is most fully realised today then it was then. Then, we were primarily a search company. Today, we are engaged in productivity applications, whether it is Google Calendar, Google Maps, or what we have done in local search.” One cannot totally disagree as Rao explains how Google’s engineering sites in Bangalore and Hyderabad are helping to define the future direction of many of Google’s Indian and global projects to build voice, language and mobile technologies for the India market. In addition, there’s the focus on web applications and improving search and advertising quality for users, advertisers and publishers. These development offices are the creative playgrounds for nerds, who push the technology limits.

In the last two years, Google has launched many innovative ventures like Google India Labs, Google Local Search, Local Business Centre and SMS Search in a bid to introduce relevant products for Indian users. Google India Labs is an India-based technology playground for products that are in the process of development. Google Labs will also act as a platform to showcase innovations that are relevant to the Indian market and will allow users to peek into Google’s future offerings. Already coming out of Google Labs are initiatives like Google SMS for mobile users in India, which will help access information without hooking on to the Internet.

So, what’s the secret of this ability to innovate consistently? Answers Rao, “We hire the best engineers in the world, wherever they may live, we provide them a friendly and productive environment to work in. And this is why we are so focused on India, as it is here that we can find such engineers and talents. We hire great teams and that’s why we have our R&D centre in Bangalore, Hyderabad, operation centre in Gurgaon, and business functions in Pune and Mumbai.” Clearly, India has the potential to be both, a global and domestic hub, for new products and services for the Internet giant.

Apart from its grand long-term ‘grassroots’ design, Google India does have an immediate objective. It’s to spread its tentacles to do in India, what its parent has done globally. Google India hopes to remain the leader in the domestic online advertising space; globally, it’s a segment that provides over 95% of its revenues. As Rao puts it, “Understanding the needs of the Indian market, we are looking to address local concerns and offer multiple channels to support business objectives and marketing goals for all businesses. We are pleased with the continued use and adoption of AdWords by Indian businesses, large and small, across regions and verticals.”

Parminder Singh, Business Head (Technology), Google India, throws light on Google’s ad programme. “Benefits that Google AdWords brings to an Indian Internet user are immense. The kind of flexibility you have on the Internet, running simultaneous campaigns together, increasing/decreasing the amount you want to spend on campaigns as and when you like, pull-out campaigns and replace them when you want, all these services are unique to us,” he says, adding that Google’s network allows advertisers to reach 70% of the target audience.

But earning significant revenues from Indian online ads is still a thing of the future. After all, the domestic market size is expected to be Rs.218 crore in 2007-08, and is expected to grow by 50% the next year. It’s too small a pie for a giant like Google, whose annual global revenues exceed $15 billion, with profits of $4 billion. Explains Singh, “Online advertising is a relatively new medium, but the response and trust we have received from our clients is phenomenal. Advertisers realise that the customer is on the Internet and thus to reach him/her, online advertising is essential. It is the fastest growing medium, and advertisers and agencies are moving towards it.”
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