谷歌的“專注”之惑
????盡管如此,但Box公司的CEO李維在一次采訪中還是認(rèn)為,谷歌要想與那些只專注少數(shù)幾件事的公司競爭,恐怕會很艱難。比如他自己的公司七年來只專注于在線文件儲存業(yè)務(wù),谷歌三個月前也推出了一款競爭性產(chǎn)品,但是當(dāng)企業(yè)客戶考慮到谷歌還有好幾十項(xiàng)其它服務(wù),他們還能信任谷歌對這個領(lǐng)域的付出嗎?還能對谷歌在這個領(lǐng)域的創(chuàng)新意愿抱有信心嗎? ????最后,李維先生表示,谷歌的“把更多木頭安在更少的箭頭后面”的戰(zhàn)略事實(shí)上已經(jīng)變成了“更多木頭和更多箭頭”。 ????李維先生也贊揚(yáng)了谷歌對一些驚人的高新技術(shù)的試驗(yàn),比如上文提到的可以上網(wǎng)的谷歌眼鏡。這種產(chǎn)品可以在全行業(yè)范圍內(nèi)起到激勵創(chuàng)新的作用,不管它上市之后最終是否取得成功——這款眼鏡可能將在2014年上市(不過開發(fā)者們明年就能拿到手)。 ????Robert W Baird公司的分析師科林?塞巴斯蒂安對谷歌的產(chǎn)品線擴(kuò)張持較支持的態(tài)度。他也承認(rèn)谷歌的胃口太大了,但是“在互聯(lián)網(wǎng)上競爭要求企業(yè)必須不斷變革?!?/p> ????對谷歌來說,這意味著它在最新的Nexus 7平板電腦、Nexus Q家庭娛樂播放器和最新款的Nexus Galaxy智能手機(jī)上下了很大的賭注。這并不是谷歌第一次賣硬件,但卻是最雄心勃勃的一次。畢竟就像塞巴斯蒂安所說,在與蘋果和亞馬遜的競爭中,賣硬件已經(jīng)成了非常重要的一環(huán)。不過他說,谷歌最新的企業(yè)計(jì)算服務(wù)“計(jì)算引擎”(Compute Engine)是另一回事。企業(yè)可以利用這項(xiàng)服務(wù)進(jìn)行數(shù)據(jù)計(jì)算,而谷歌要做的只是利用它現(xiàn)有的基礎(chǔ)架構(gòu)即可,除了營銷以外,不需要進(jìn)行任何重大投資。 ????不過總的來說,帶領(lǐng)一家公司朝著一個新的方向邁進(jìn)從來都不是一件容易的事。谷歌最近力推硬件更是一場豪賭,尤其是谷歌最近剛剛以125億美元收購了摩托羅拉(Motorola),這也是谷歌有史以來花費(fèi)最大的一筆收購。塞巴斯蒂安說:“值得表揚(yáng)的是,我認(rèn)為拉里?佩奇的確已經(jīng)使公司專注了起來。他不害怕做出重大決策。” ????譯者:樸成奎 |
????Still, Mr. Levie, from Box, said in an interview that Google will have a hard time competing against companies focused on just a few things. He pointed to online file storage, which his company has focused on exclusively for seven years. Google introduced a competing product three months ago. Can corporate customers really be confident about Google's commitment to the space and its willingness to innovate when it has dozens of other competing initiatives, he asked? ????In the end, Mr. Levie said that Google's "more wood behind fewer arrows" strategy has become "more wood and more arrows." ????Mr. Levie applauded Google for its experimentation with gee-whiz technology like Google Glass, which brings the Internet to people wearing eyeglasses via their lenses. Such products help inspire innovation industry-wide, regardless of whether Google's glasses ultimately succeed after they go on sale to consumers, perhaps in 2014 (developers, however, can get them next year). ????Colin Sebastian, an analyst with Robert W Baird & Co., was more supportive of Google's expanding product portfolio. Yes, Google has a lot on its plate, he said. But "competing on the Internet requires constant change." ????For Google, that means placing a big bet on its new Nexus 7 tablet and Nexus Q home entertainment hub along with its latest phone, the Nexus Galaxy. It's not Google's first time selling hardware. But it is its most ambitious. In the end, selling hardware has become critical to competing against Apple and Amazon (AMZN), Mr. Sebastian said. ????Google's new corporate computing service, Compute Engine, is another matter, he said. Companies would use the service to take care of their data crunching. All Google is doing is leveraging its existing infrastructure that is uses for its computing needs, Mr. Sebastian said. No significant investment is necessary except for marketing. ????Broadly speaking, though, taking a company into a new direction is never made easily. Google's latest push into hardware was a particularly big gamble considering it came only after acquiring Motorola for $12.5 billion, the most Google has ever paid for a company. "To his credit, I do think Larry Page has focused the company," Mr. Sebastian said. "He's not afraid to make the big decisions." |
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