Q.2 How is the move to smart, connected products reshaping the industry structure and boundaries? Illustrate your answer with the relevant diagrams/charts.

Ans:

Supplier Power - LOWSupplier bargaining power is currently low and should remain low as long as Google maintains strong market dominance. Because of the ad system they use to generate income, both the advertiser and the receiver are Google clients. The Android phone system has been selling with great success for all mobile phone companies, so suppliers of these items want to maintain a good relationship with Google as well, putting them in a somewhat powerless position.Buyer Power STRONGBuyer power is strong in both the Internet and Computer Software industries. There are many competitors that host alternatives to Googles offerings. While many of Googles services are free, they rely on advertising to generate a moderate percentage of their revenue. If people choose not to use their services, this could cause a drop in advertising clients, affecting Googles bottom line. There are also many companies that create mobile phone operating systems, allowing consumers the choice not to buy Google based phones. Because of this, buyers could potentially control pricing if there is a general consensus that prices are too high.Competitive Rivalry MODERATEWhile Google does have current competitors in the search engine game (the two largest being Yahoo and MSN) it still commands a large majority of internet services. Its search engine is by far the most used year after year, and innovations like Google Earth and Street View leave competitors playing catch up. Yahoo and MSN both constantly update their services but they have yet to capture the success Google has.When introducing the Android operating system, Google put themselves in competition with Apples iPhone. While it may be true that Android phones make up a larger share of the market than iOS phones, Apple only has a few versions of a phone that uses their OS. Many different companies have released Android power phones, making the market much more saturated. However, there is no one Android phone that would come close to the market share of the iPhone on its own.Threat of Substitution LOWThe internet has become the primary source for information gathering and queries, and the backbone of this is built off search engines and other services that return the results needed. With such a commanding presence, Google Inc. has itself positioned for long term success on the internet. As of now, there is no foreseeable substitution for the internet. The closest would be a theoretical step backwards by depending on physically locating information through publications, which would have a large negative impact on both time and money of all involved.Threat of New Entry - MODERATEGoogle Inc. has a low risk of new entry threat because of the high level of entry barriers. It would take a massive starting capital to build a startup network infrastructure to compete with all Googles online services and products, and would be a considerable feat to maintain and upgrade services and products at a rate that would usurp their current control of the industry.What could pose a threat of new entry for Google is a company focusing specifically on one of the services offered by Google. BY focusing all of their attention on one product, they could potentially develop a single better product than one of Google's if they have the talent and informationnecessary.

Q.3 How do smart, connected products affect the configuration of the value chain or the set of activities required to compete? Illustrate your answer for your company.Ans:Value Chain Model of Google Android phones

Q. 4) What new types of strategic choices will smart, connected products require companies to achieve competitive advantage? Illustrate your answer for your companyAns:1)Which set of smart, connected product capabilities and features should the company pursue?

2) How much functionality should be embedded in the product and how much in the cloud?

Cloud computing has taken the IT world by storm. There are various layers to the Android programming model that easily fit in with the creation of secure applications specially made for the cloud environment. The open source Android operating system allows complex cloud computing applications to run wherever the user is.Android developers can write applications to take advantage of the cloud and can leverage the faster time to market, the agility, cost benefits, etc. Most of the time, as users, we merely consider games and other apps that simplify daily life as the inspiration for Android apps. But make no mistake; enterprise apps are a good bet too. According to top research analysts, mobile-centric applications and interfaces are among the top 10 strategic technology trends in 2012 and 2013. Now, the question is, for Android app developers, how different is it to develop apps in the traditional environment and the cloud environment?In the traditional environment, the complete infrastructure needs to be maintained at the back end. Hence, the focus is more on maintaining the environment and not on making applications that are robust and innovative.In the cloud environment, infrastructure is managed by service providers in public clouds. Hardware maintenance is the responsibility of the service provider and, in addition to this, service providers also maintain the software stack.3)Should the company pursue an open or closed system?4) Should the company develop the full set of smart, connected product capabilitiesand infrastructure internally or outsource to vendors and partners?5) What data must the company capture, secure, and analyze to maximize thevalue of its offering?

The added-value to the complementors are: Developers have the possibility of a ad-based revenue model and a free and powerful platform and SDK. They also have the opportunity to belong to the Android community by making contributions although there are some restrictions in this regard like no adjustments to the OS.8 Carriers potentially mine user data and leverage Googles infrastructure to provide a push-based service. Handset makers get a free open-source platform that can drive down the cost of their product.6) How does the company manage ownership and access rights to its productdata?7) Should the company fully or partially dis intermediate distribution channels orservice networks?8) Should the company change its business model?9) Should the company enter new businesses by monetizing its product data throughselling it to outside parties?a) Build a killer app.Google put a free Android software developer's kit on its website and announced the Developer Challenge, with $10 million in prize money to be parceled out to the creators of the best applications for the new system. The Challenge was an open call; anyone was invited to take a shot.15 Few programs were creating from scratch an email app, a contacts manager could be replaced with third-party software that did the same thing.By the April 14 deadline for the first round of the Developer Challenge, Google had received nearly 1,800 submissions. Entrants ranged from huge corporations to single-person shops and came from all over the world. Only a third was from the US. Google's model is to build a killer app, then monetize it later.b) Be Free and Open.Google didn't care how any individual model was created as long as the hidden Android DNA was there underneath, keeping everything tied to the Internet and running smoothly. Google has announced that the source code underpinning 11its Android platform for mobile devices is available for free to anyone who wants to modify it. The code is being provided through the Android Open Source Project, which will give the public the opportunity to make contributions to the platform's all-important core -- a first for a mobile operating system with true mass-market appeal. Theoretically, the move should position Android to benefit from a fairly democratic, speedy evolution,10) Should the company expand its scope?We saw how Google brings added-value to the table and in the first edition of Android stands on the shoulders of three individual complementors. Future dominance would require Android to stand on the shoulders of an infinite number of complementors. An individual complementor cannot be a big weakness or a big strength for Android. It should do that by: Augmenting the power, scope and perception of its added-value; Convincing large number of handset makers toi adopt Android as their mobile platform. Google has to balance out conflicting goals of Android handset fragmentation and Android handset ubiquity hence this is a delicate game to play; Ensuring that a majority of carriers in the world market an Android phone.By weakening the hand of its complementors Googles Android can become the most important player in the game by 10 means of its added-value. The absolute requirement though is to kick-off the virtuous cycle with Android phones gaining a significant mobile subscriber base and attracting developers.

Q.5 How do these smart and connected products impact the competition in your chosen sector? Outline briefly your company's strategy in this regard.Ans:While Google does have current competitors in the search engine game (the two largest being Yahoo and MSN) it still commands a large majority of internet services. Its search engine is by far the most used year after year, and innovations like Google Earth and Street View leave competitors playing catch up. Yahoo and MSN both constantly update their services but they have yet to capture the success Google has.When introducing the Android operating system, Google put themselves in competition with Apples iPhone. While it may be true that Android phones make up a larger share of the market than iOS phones, Apple only has a few versions of a phone that uses their OS. Many different companies have released Android power phones, making the market much more saturated. However, there is no one Android phone that would come close to the market share of the iPhone on its own.

Q. 6) What are the organizational implications of embracing these new types of products and the challenges that affect implementation success? Illustrate your answer for your company.Ans:

I would say that in general, for the kind of innovations and technology that Google produces, their governance, culture and processes are perfectly suited for generating one great idea after another. The three top executives have a keen instinct for where to take the company and I agree with them when they say hostile takeovers would only put their long-term vision in jeopardy. The media model may very well be a good one to compare them to, as they are both are reliant on creative vision and talent. The creative corporate culture is superb for attracting bright minds and Google plex is a perfect laboratory/playground for creating the Google magic. The organizational process of allowing all employees to use 20% of the work time combined with the small team work style appears to be a good formula for generating rough and dirty prototypes that if found of value can then be developed more fully from alpha to beta. The only limitations I can see is the possibility of ego getting in the way of doing great work and the size of the company eventually turning employees and customers off of the company. This could very well be a branding challenge for Google in the near future of how to deal with growing into a big corporation.Q.7) What is your key learning from the article for your sector/company and otherwise?We live in a smart connected world. The number of devices connected to the Internet recently surpassed the total number of humans on the planet. According to industry reports, were accelerating on our way to an Internet of Things that will include as many as 50 billion connected products by the end of the decade. In this new world all manner of sensors, tags, and controls will become a part of both the manufacturing process as well as the smart products that such manufacturers produce. This transformation is taking shape across all manufacturing sectors.For discrete manufacturers, the implications are huge. Historically, they have lost control of their product once it leaves the factory. With smart connected products, manufacturers can now experience true closed-loop, product lifecycle management where they can track, manage and control product information at any phase of its lifecycle at any time and any place in the world. This will allow manufacturers to: Create, analyze and validate the complete product definition across both mechanical and electrical disciplines Accelerate smart product innovation Extend capabilities within and alongside the product Deliver new value through integrated services throughout the lifecycleHowever, the creation of smart connected products is not easy. To capitalize on this opportunity, manufacturers must assess their companys strategy as it relates to everything from product design to sourcing, production, sales, and service. Manufacturers must be able to securely collect and respond to data from customers, suppliers, and now the products themselves. Long-term, this data will necessitate the development of advanced analytic capabilities. The more immediate need will be for systems that support remote product monitoring, operation, and optimization.Smart Connected Products Solutions for the rapid development of applications that securely connect manufacturers to their factories, products, and after-market service environments.Customer SuccessBe inspired by Smart connected Products success stories where the user is enabled to easily manage and understand smart product performance and usage data to inform ongoing product development, quality assurance, and service management, generating increased value for the manufacturer and their customer base.