The case study of evaluate Google Glass and their business strategic direction

Yihan+Li

【Abstract】Google Glass is a new technology from Google Company. The main purpose of this report is to evaluate Google Glass and how does this new technological development make impacts on Google strategic direction. Use the SWOT and Porters five force tools analysis and evaluation.

【Key words】google glass； organization； business strategy

1. Introduction

Google Company established in 1998 by Larry Page and Sergey Brin. At the beginning Google is only a search engine. After through the company innovation and development Google image， news， scholar， map， Gmail， voice， mobile and project glass starts to appear. In 2012， April 4th Google announces ‘project glass， the designer is Isabelle Olsson. The glass can benefit your life in three ways， to be active， explore your world and live lighter. In 2014， June 23rd Google Glass sell to the public on Website and stores.

2. Business strategy

Business strategy is refers to how an organization choose industry with competitive strategy. For example， Google company have a wide range of market thats suitable for everyone； people who pursue on high-tech products， people who interested in reading books and so on. Glass is a new technology from Google in order to satisfy customers who want record important moments in their life （Henry， 2011. pp. 188-200）

The global business strategy of Google provide thought leadership and strategic to drive revenue growth for Googles global Business Organisation， develop a long term vision for the business. Technology-oriented is Google core ideal and strategy. Also Google often explores with new industries， with acquirement and strategic alliances.（Google Careers， 2014） Google glass has two alliances Luxottica and Himax. Luxottica Company major is design glass， Himax is the supplier of Google glass focuses on liquid crystal on silicon chips and modules. （Luxottica， 2014） Google takes 6.3% share in their supplier Himax， this corporate relationship can promote both sides strategy development. This new technology enhances and promotes Google company strategic direction. New technology and strategic alliances offer opportunities for Google explain market and achieve global business strategy. （Techcrunch， 2013）

a） Generic environment

The changes that happen in the general environment go beyond organization and industries.

Strengths

Google Glass used new technology to records and connects daily life information. From the appearance， designer use the lightweight materials， it is easy to wear. Glass has many functions， such as voice search， driving and working direction， accepts phone call， send message， search weather and share photos. New technology attracts number of people who are interested in high-tech. In addition， it also can improve peoples life quality. （CNET， 2013）endprint

Weakness

The weakness of Google glass is that hackers can easily hack into Google glass by creates QR code. The glass used a simplified design for its interface task， Google glass can detect QR codes automatically by using its camera attached on the device. Thus， hackers can set up spiteful QR code that can coerce glass to do any action in order to steal personal information. The market research result shows that 72% of Americans wont wear Google Glass Because of privacy worries. They scared that their personal information leakage can put themselves into dangerous situation. Google Glass may have a vision blind spot that can cause vision confusion； it is bad influence for people. （Forbes， 2013）

Opportunities

Google glass wants to explore new technologies and make partnership with other companies APX lab provide Skylight software Augmedix provide service for medical physicians， CrowdOptic offer broadcast events， GuidiGo offer next generation of guided tours and Wearable Intelligence. （CRN news， 2014） Through set up partnership with other brands that not only can explain Google Glass global strategy， but also improve their new technologies internally. Google Glass team up with Himax to develop new smart glass. （Focus Taiwan News channel， 2014）

Threats

Google Glass may not be popular and welcome in some place because copyright and privacy issue. There are top 10 places that have banned Google Glass：Banks and ATMs， Sports Arenas and concert venues， Looker rooms and dressing rooms， movie theaters， cars， hospitals， classroom， strip clubs， casinos and bars. （Search Engine Journal， 2013）

Government may use legislation ban Glass in some specific place. For example， ban Glass used in drive because it bad for driver concentrate on their vision and brain.

b） Competitive environment

The competitive environment includes that industry and markets in which an organization competes.

（1） The Threat of New Entrants

There are five new entrants that threat Google Glass， include GlassUp， Telepathy One， Innovega iOptik Contacts and Vergence Labs Epiphany Eyewear Recon Jet. The biggest threat from Glassup， is an Italian company， their product have the same appearances as Google glass. But the difference between Google glass and Glassup is that Glassup does not feature camera. The threats from Glassup is the price and vision， it is cheaper than Google. Google glass price at $1500 and Glassup price at $399. The device on Glassup is right in the middle of the glass that can be very comfortable for the users eye. On contrary， Google Glasss device is place at the right top conner， which has a blind spot. （Search Engine Jornal， 2013）endprint

（2） The Bargaining Power of Buyers.

Google Glass attracts most people who interested in high-tech， take video， record life moment and who interest in new things. Based on the glass features and advanced functions.

The line chart shows the date about forecast Google glass sales situation， at beginning sales situation is very slowly， but in the future in 2018 the sale of Google glass will increase massively and become really popular all over the world. （Statista， 2014）

（3） The Bargaining Power of Suppliers.

Semiconductor maker Himax Technologies is the supplier of Google Glass. Around 2004， increasing rate that people are interested in Google Glass has put pressure on Himax Company； because supplier need increase production facilities ensure demand. （Tech crunch， 2013）

（4） The Threat of Substitute Products and Services.

Apple Iwatch is one of the Google Glass substitute products. Compare Glass and Iwatch， they both can tell time， perform basic search， get notifications， send messages， voice and touch input， audio and visual and basically hands free. The Glass has some unique functions like true hands-free computing， low profile camera， head tracking that will know where you are looking， private audio and private viewing of information.（readwrite， 2013）

（5） The Intensity of Rivalry among Competitors in an Industry.

Compare Google Class with Glassup， Google Glass has competitive advantages. Firstly， Google Glass alliance with Luxottica， they have high level design and construction. Second， Glass under the Google Company， so they have s strong brand value. Also Google search engine is dominance. Google has a native competitive advantage add into their business model. Glass search used Google search engine and using original PageRank algorithm. （ S[cubed]， 2013）

3. Conclusion

To sum up， Google Glass is the new technology that change and enhance Google strategic. The advantage of Glass is making peoples life more convenience and help people record significant moment. Also， strategy innovation can help company build competitive advantage. The disadvantage of Glass is the design， the main equipment on the right top corner. Because Google Glass has a strong camera and it can record without others knowing， it may be invasion privacy which leads to problems.

References：

[1]Henry， A.E.（2011） Understand strategic management. 2nd Edn. New York： Online resource centre.endprint

[2]ADWEEK（2014） Check your symptoms. Available at：http：//www.adweek.com/news/technology/74-americans-wont-wear-google-glass-because-privacy-worries-156830 （Accessed： 11 October 2014）.

[3]CNET （2013） Check your symptoms. Available at： http：//www.cnet.com/news/everything-you-need-to-know-about-google-glass-faq/ （Accessed： 10 October 2014）.

[4]CRN（2014） Check your symptoms. Available at：http：//www.crn.com/slide-shows/news/mobility/300073145/fab-five-the-first-round-of-google-glass-certified-partners.htm/pgno/0/5 （Accessed： 11 October 2014）.

[5]Forbes（2013） Check your symptoms. Available at：http：//www.forbes.com/sites/eliseackerman/2013/03/04/could-google-glass-hurt-your-eyes-a-harvard-vision-scientist-and-project-glass-advisor-responds/ （Accessed： 12 October 2014）.

[6]Google Careers（2014） Check your symptoms. Available at：https：//www.google.com/about/careers/teams/business-strategy/.

[7]International business time （2013） Check your symptoms. Available at：http：//www.ibtimes.com/google-glass-weakness-qr-codes-let-hackers-take-over-device-video-1350303 （Accessed： 11 October 2014）.

[8]Luxottica （2014） Check your symptoms. Available at：http：//www.luxottica.com/en/google-and-luxottica-announce-strategic-partnership-glass-develop-innovative-iconic-wearable-devices （Accessed： 9 October 2014）.

[9]Readwrite （2013） Check your symptoms. Available at：http：//readwrite.com/2013/05/27/google-glass-vs-apple-iwatch-how-do-they-compare （Accessed： 13 October 2014）.endprint