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During the past few decades, we have seen the acceleration of globalization as a flattening force taking down economic, cultural and social divides and integrating them into one. The phenomenon has become controversial as some see it as an opportunity for global economic growth while others see it as threat to local identities, local economic growth and governance. But Google is also becoming a global force and reality. Google is now a global household name for those who use the Internet. If you look around, one way or another you're being affected by globalization, but if you think about how you use the Internet, chances are you're being affected by 'Googlization'.

This article provides a broad overview of Google's products and services and it also gives a quick snapshot of Google's financials. Google is a giant empire, so I don't aim and claim that this article is an all-inclusive piece on the company, but after reading the article you should get a sense of what Google does and hopefully the knowledge will help you in your investment decisions involving Google.

Google is still a teenager as a company (turns 15 in Sept. 2013) and its worth ($259 billion) is more than IBM's ($227 billion) which is a century-old company (was incorporated in 1911). There is a saying, "You can't predict anything, especially the future". So I cannot predict where Google is heading, but instead I will outline its business activities.

Financial Synopsis: Google filed for incorporation on Sept. 4, 1998. Its first IPO took place on Aug. 19, 2004 with a set price of $85, but the first trade was $101.01. With a market cap of $259 billion (as of Feb. 13, 2013), Google's revenue in 2012 was $50.1 billion, up from 2011 revenue of $37.9 billion. According to CNBC, Institutional Ownership of Google stands at astounding 84.88% as of Feb. 7, 2013. The highest trade volume was 41.1 million, recorded on Jan. 20, 2006. The highest closing price was $806.85 reported on Feb. 19, 2013 while the lowest price was $100.34 reported on Aug. 19, 2004.

According to recent (2013) company's official filing with the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC), Google's business focuses on four segments:

1. Search

2. Advertising

3. Operating systems and platforms

4. Enterprise and hardware products

1. Search: As of 2012, Google has indexed an astounding 50 billion pages. Back in 2007 that number was 4.28 billion pages. So you can be assured that when Google can't find what you're looking for, it probably doesn't exist. Some sources indicate that Google has indexed 30 trillion pages, but that seems excessive. Also, Google search engine responds to 100 billion queries per month. 'Google Now' (available on Android operating system) and 'Knowledge Graph' are recent and different variations of Google search that aim to make search more accurate and natural. For example Google Now enables you to get timely and somewhat real-time information on weather, stocks, flight and train schedules, current road traffic conditions, sporting scores, celebrities, places of interest and etc in an automatic fashion.

If Google can't find it, it probably doesn't exist.

2. Advertising: Google connects business and consumers across the world. AdWords targets businesses that want to take advantage of Internet marketing while AdSense allows content providers or publishers to earn revenues by displaying advertising on their sites. In June 2012, Google launched AdMob to target emerging advertisement on mobile devices. Note well that in 2012, 95% of Google's revenue came from advertisers.

In 2012, 95% of Google's revenue came from advertisers. Source Google

3. Operating System: As of Sept. 2012, half a billion Android devices were activated globally. There is also the Chrome OS project which can be used as a replacement for Windows operating system if user's activity is mostly on the Internet. A component of the Chrome project is the widely popular Chrome browser which currently has 18% market share among Internet browsers.

4. Enterprise and hardware products

(click to enlarge) a. Enterprise: Google gives the power of search to businesses, so they can incorporate it in their internal networks. It also provides businesses with many software services called API enabling companies to better position themselves on Google map for example. Other services include businesses services such as Gmail, Google Docs, Google Calendar, and Google Sites, Google Commerce Search (for online retail businesses) and Google Search Appliance (discussed below).

b. Hardware products: Google's involvement in hardware centers on three segments: (1) a tablet PC, (2) Google Search Appliance and (3) mobility though acquisition of Motorola Mobility in 2011. Nexus 7 tablet powered by Google's own Android operating system is manufactured in conjunction with Asus. Google Mini (replaced by the new Google Search Appliance) was an enterprise hardware appliance that enabled firms get the best of Google search engine. This product was discontinued in 2012. Google sold a segment of Motorola Mobility in late 2012 to Arris Group that designs hardware for cable and broadband operators. I think Google 'may' eventually abandon hardware all together unless it invests in product development and sale while affording low profit margins. Some have mentioned that Nexus 7 tablet has very "thin" profit margins, but Google's aim may be to give users a device with Google-enabled software and services, thus creating and strengthening the ecosystem. I think Google may exclusively focus on software, web services and search engine. This is because competition may get very tough and it won't be possible for Google to fight in many fronts. On other hand, it is possible that Google become a strong player in tablet and mobile markets if it senses that advertising revenues decline pushing the firm to find alternative revenue venues. In other words, it remains to be seen whether Google will abandon focus on hardware or whether the firm will make headway in the area.

I have intentionally stayed away from predicting what will happen to Google's engagement in hardware because while competition is tough in tablet, mobile and search revenues, the firm may use its dominant footprint and become a strong player. On other hand, just because Google is a global household name does not mean it is not vulnerable to setback.

Now I will outline Google's services and technologies that constitute the foundation of company's ecosystem:

1. YouTube: After Google bought YouTube for over $1.5 billion, the company has become the largest online video provider. YouTube is a massive platform:

• Over 800 million unique users visit YouTube each month.
• Over 4 billion hours of video are watched each month on YouTube.
• 72 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute.
• In 2011, YouTube had more than 1 trillion views or around 140 views for every person on Earth.

2. Giant data centers: Although Google doesn't reveal how many servers it runs, experts have estimated the number based on energy use by the company. As of 2011, it was estimated at 900,000 servers worldwide. If we go by that number, one would estimate that Google could be running around a million servers worldwide today. Given the rise of virtualization and cloud computing, they may not all be physical servers, but in terms of capacity, there is no doubt that Google is running extensive data center to maintain and grow its business.

3. Multilingual Google: Google supports 42 languages and that number is increasing all the time.

4. Google Play: Provides access to 700,000 apps and games plus music, movies and books available through Google Play portal.

5. Google+: A social network that has 500 million users as of Dec. 2012 according to official Google sources.

6. Nexus 7 Tablet: A tablet powered by Google's own Android operating system and in conjunction with Asus. The device's global market share among Android-based tablets is 8%. Interestingly, Nexus 7 captured an astonishing 44% tablet market share in Japan according to a survey reported by CNET.

7. Digitization: Google has partnered with libraries, organizations and universities to digitize historic films, documentaries and books. In fact, you can find complete books online while the cyber library of books is expanding all the time. Google Books is an extension of this service where one can preview a portion of a book before purchasing it.

8. Other services: Google Wallet, Google TV, Google Drive. Google Gmail (425 million users as of June 2012.

9. Other: Google driverless car.

10. Google Foundation: Through Google.org, Google is trying to contribute to tackle three distinct and pressing global issues: Global climate change, global public health and global economic development and poverty. The company is donating 1% of profits for these causes.

In conclusion, I hope this article gave you a broad overview of Google's business focus.

Sources and Further Reading

Report: Google Uses About 900,000 Servers

http://www.datacenterknowledge.com/archives/2011/08/01/report-google-uses-about-900000-servers/

Total Number of Pages Indexed by Google

http://www.statisticbrain.com/total-number-of-pages-indexed-by-google/ Google: 100 Billion

Searches Per Month, Search To Integrate Gmail, Launching Enhanced Search App For iOS

http://searchengineland.com/google-search-press-129925

Google+: Communities and photos

http://googleblog.blogspot.ca/2012/12/google-communities-and-photos.html

Mobile and Desktop November Web Browser Market Shares

http://www.forbes.com/sites/chuckjones/2012/12/14/mobile-and-desktop-november-web-browser-market-shares/

Gmail now has 425 million active users

http://www.theverge.com/2012/6/28/3123643/gmail-425-million-total-users

Kindle leads Android tablet market, but the Nexus 7 is gaining speed http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/android-market-share/

Google Nexus 7 tops iPad in Japan: Is this a trend?

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-57564407-37/google-nexus-7-tops-ipad-in-japan-is-this-a-trend/

The Next Chapter for Google.org

http://blog.google.org/2009/02/next-chapter-for-googleorg.html

Disclosure: I have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 72 hours.