Google has big plans for India. Can it succeedIJ
Google's aim to reach out to the ‘next billion' users in India will probably connect the remotest villager to the World Wide Web. The US tech giant's plan to particularly focus on the young and the woman-users seeks to herald a new wave in digital revolution. It appears that the company is carefully observing the growing trend of Net-users who have shifted from desktops and laptops to smartphones. Its attempt is to provide more accessible and affordable Internet services to this new band of users. The new users go online largely from their mobile phones. Therefore, Google has the challenge to work with numerous mobile phone companies for making available cheaper smartphones. This will expand the user network. As more and more people access the Internet, Google will have to work to improve its searches in India. The company is expected to address the issues related to search difficulties on a war path. Currently India has around 350 million Internet users, and it is likely to jump to 600 million by 2020. Google's attempt to provide free wi-fi at railway stations in collaboration with RailTel can help reach out to many, as these are public facilities used by millions every day. Bringing more than two million active users on a monthly basis across 27 railway stations till date, is a remarkable achievement for the company. There is the possibility that Goggle will be able to expand its user base by developing partnerships with major public utility services in India. looking at the emerging e-commerce market in India, Google should make its products available in more local languages. Considering the data usage sensitivities of a majority of Indians, the company is required to build lighter products. This will propel the number of users. It can be a smart strategy to attract new and busy customers. Google's decision to make some of its services offline will now connect people who are in remote areas where there is no Internet facility. Making some of its apps usable without an Internet connection, like 'Google Maps', can be of great help to people on the move and outside Net coverage.
Google's acquisition of Singapore-based work-chat app, ‘Pie', in the beginning of this year has the potential to multiply its services across the region. As Singapore is closer to emerging markets like India, Indonesia and Malaysia, the Pie team will be able to sort out operational issues in these countries. More importantly, Pie is working to make products for the next billion users, including in India. With the expertise in the Pie team, the company feels that users in India and Indonesia will be at ease in accessing the Net. Unlike any other tech firms, Google's policy to strengthen the autonomy of the local teams for making decisions could quickly address users across India. Hopefully, Google's ‘billion project’ will bring billion opportunities for India. Of course, if Google falters or gets over-confident, it can fail as monumentally.