Google buys companies all the time, I get that. But the purchase of traffic application, Waze is different. Google has mapping applications already, but you have to think that the purchase is to protect itself from someone else grabbing this app. It’s on several platforms (iOS and Android specifically) and perhaps Google figured that if they didn’t get it, it could threaten Google’s dominance in the mapping space. After all, besides turn by turn navigation Waze has crowdsourced traffic alerts, speed trap alerts, and cheap gas alerts. And it’s pretty good. That’s something that Google can’t say. You have to think that got the attention of someone at Google HQ.
I reached out to Ovum’s Tony Cripps who is the principal analyst at Ovum, and he had this to say:
“If confirmed this is as much an offensive as a defensive move by Google. As such it needs to be understood in light of the whole of Google and its overall business objectives, not just the parts. As Ovum’s Location Platform Scorecard reveals, Google already has a market leading location platform but it is clearly not ready to rest on its laurels. Acquiring Waze is further evidence that the company feels the need to deepen its mapping and location services functionality still further and Waze’s functionality would certainly help it achieve that, as it would have Google’s rivals.
Keep your eye on this purchase by Google. I really think that this could be a game changer.
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This entry was posted on June 11, 2013 at 9:44 pm and is filed under Commentary with tags Google, Waze. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
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Google To Buy Waze … Why You Should Care
Google buys companies all the time, I get that. But the purchase of traffic application, Waze is different. Google has mapping applications already, but you have to think that the purchase is to protect itself from someone else grabbing this app. It’s on several platforms (iOS and Android specifically) and perhaps Google figured that if they didn’t get it, it could threaten Google’s dominance in the mapping space. After all, besides turn by turn navigation Waze has crowdsourced traffic alerts, speed trap alerts, and cheap gas alerts. And it’s pretty good. That’s something that Google can’t say. You have to think that got the attention of someone at Google HQ.
I reached out to Ovum’s Tony Cripps who is the principal analyst at Ovum, and he had this to say:
“If confirmed this is as much an offensive as a defensive move by Google. As such it needs to be understood in light of the whole of Google and its overall business objectives, not just the parts. As Ovum’s Location Platform Scorecard reveals, Google already has a market leading location platform but it is clearly not ready to rest on its laurels. Acquiring Waze is further evidence that the company feels the need to deepen its mapping and location services functionality still further and Waze’s functionality would certainly help it achieve that, as it would have Google’s rivals.
Keep your eye on this purchase by Google. I really think that this could be a game changer.
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Like this:
Related
This entry was posted on June 11, 2013 at 9:44 pm and is filed under Commentary with tags Google, Waze. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.