Behavior Prediction Coming to Google - Article Example

?Whereas nearly everyone is intimately aware of the global reach and influence that the search engine giant Google has, one of the most effective means that Google utilizes in order to stay ahead of the competition and to continue to promote and provide new ways of interacting and satisfying the needs of its end consumer’s is to continually be on the lookout for new in emergent technology that is able to fit into the broader scheme of what Google is trying to offer as well as help them to develop into new areas that offer a potential for growth. As with any very large firm, the extent of growth that can continue to be realized is limited; accordingly, it is up to key aspects of the firm’s acquisitions department to continually be on the lookout for new and exciting technologies that can help contribute to Google’s continued prominence within the market. One of these recent acquisitions that Google hopes will aid them in continuing to exert a high level of influence and power over the market is their recent acquisition of a firm previously known as “Behavio”. Accordingly, this brief analysis will seek to define how Behavior came into existence, what specific strengths it offers, and the likely means by which Google will attempt to leverage the strengths as a result of the acquisition. Behavio was born out of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). As with many tech startups that utilize and leverage public/private funds, Behavior received in excess of $355,000 from a venture capitalist group known as Knight Inc. As the technology developed, the firm spun off independently and soon began to develop a platform and application for Android OS that would serve as a type of predictive behavioral environment (Zhu 1). With this ultimately signified was an application that was able to use a various array of inputs from the environment in order to gather valuable information with regards to what the individual phone operator might engage in that and/or to predict future behavior based upon the inputs that it been gleaned. This behavioral modeling of course represents a valuable asset to any marketing firm as it allows the applications owner to specifically market goods or services based upon the likely activities engaged in by the owner. Seeing the potential of this application, Google sought acquisition due to the fact that it could easily integrate such a platform within its current product offering sweet. For instance, the reader can and should integrate with an understanding of the fact that if an individual operating the Behavio application upon their android device is currently engaging in an outdoor activity with key physics movements that allow the individual device to determine what is being done, this information can then be tied in to a number of Google applications and further aid the predictive modeling that Google has Artie pioneered. Beyond just the marketing aspect, this allows much closer integration with the level and extent to which such services such as group Google maps, Google shopping, and of host of others can present the utility to the end-user (Woods 1). Moreover, it is been determined by those who of analyzed the software that Behavio is not only able to gather and drivers upon the individual, it is also able together and draw inference upon entire groups or communities of individuals that are using application. In such a way, the targeted information across a range of demographics, social groups, races, and ages can be integrated with the end-user. Ultimately, by being able to tie in both the marketing and utility aspects that it herein been discussed, it is easy for the reader to understand how such an application, or group of patients, helps to fit the needs of Google (Ong 1). Ultimately, Google is interested in the maximization of profits. In order to achieve this, they need to offer increased utility for their users as well as increased means by which they can market within the product offerings they have. Since Behavio promises to do both of these concurrently, the acquisition of such a firm is extremely good idea for Google. Although this piece is merely a brief introduction and analysis of what the Behavio acquisition might be able to offer Google, it can and must be noted that this acquisition, perhaps more than any other in the recent past, represents a particular liability. Due to the fact that individuals are becoming more and more aware of the means by which applications track, record, and quantify their information, it is highly likely that a general level of resistance will be noted with regards to how the app seeks to integrate with the user and provide key levels of suggestions based upon observed behavior. Whereas people have become increasingly leery of applications that do something as small as tracking their geographic location, the reader can and should realize that an application such as Behavio offers does a great deal more than this (Keel 1). Ultimately, Behavio offers a unique opportunity for growth that Google seeks to leverage. Although there exist risk with any acquisition, the stakeholders within Google have obvious of determined that the level of risk which could result from consumer pushback with regards to the applications that Behavio has thus far developed and will likely continue develop under Google’s umbrella, these did not serve as enough of a disincentive to scare the firm away from incorporating Behavio into their collective. It is naturally the hope of leadership within Google that Behavio will allow the firm to more effectively market the range of its goods and services to the end consumer as well as increase the overall utility that the aforementioned consumer will be able to appreciate with regards to the remainder of Google’s many services. As it exists now, although Google is a powerful multinational firm with the presence many niche markets, such an acquisition will strengthen their ability to continue to compete with the likes of Apple’s IOS as well is to continue to strengthen the performance and integration of their Android OS. Works Cited Keel, Sarah. "Behavio now part of Google: Behavior Prediction Coming to Google Now |CodeMink | Life. Gadgets. Technology." CodeMink | Life. Gadgets. Technology. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Apr. 2013. Ong, Josh. "Behavio Team Joins Google, Shuts Down Behavior Tracker Project." The Next Web. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Apr. 2013. Woods, Ben. "Google acquires Android mobile-data firm Behavio | Mobile News." CNET. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Apr. 2013. Zhu, Daniel. "Google Acquires Startup Behavio." Yahoo! Finance. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Apr. 2013. Read More