If there’s a large market, you can bet that Google will be there if it isn’t already.
Today, Google launched its own Android Smartphone called Nexus One. Google recently turned the mapping/GIS industry on its head when it announced that it was going to provide its maps with turn-by-turn directions for free. Most people have to pay for GPS functionality. It has also quietly upped the ante on its geolocation game with the launch of Latitude and Favorite Places. There will be plenty more written about this elsewhere, but when you’re done reading about all the iPhone vs. Android comparisons, remember that Google’s real money is still largely generated from advertising. Hat tip to Brian Sheehan for providing some insight: How Google Is Moving to 'Own' Mobility.
Smart Grid Market – Entre Google
The modernization of our nation’s electrical grid, which runs from the points of power generation through to the transmission and distribution of electrical energy to homes and business, represents a trillion dollar market. Specific opportunities along the value chain make up opportunities that run in the hundreds of millions and even billions of dollars. Naturally, every major technology company in the world is hungry for a piece of the pie. Google is no exception.
That Google would use its strengths to develop a Home Energy Management (HEM) solution that provides consumers with useful energy consumption data should come as no surprise. It’s also no surprise that it can be obtained for free. What stands out however, is that they have unabashedly entered the marketplace from a philanthropic perspective.
Here’s their angle. Energy conservation stands as a central pillar of the smart grid movement. Reducing our energy consumption and shifting it away from fossil fuels benefits our environment. And, since curbing climate change is a global environmental challenge, an energy management tool falls within the mission of Google.org.
Google PowerMeter is a project of Google.org, Google's philanthropic arm, which aspires to leverage the power of information and technology to address global challenges.
When Google enters a market, you can expect that they’ll have the wherewithal to spend untold millions without a near-term profit motive. That’s got to make business leaders on the same playing field feel uneasy. When Google.org enters a market with no profit motive, well I imagine that’s gotta make competitors feel down right queasy.
Google dominance is no fait accompli.
Even without Google and Google.org, the HEM market is one of the most competitive in the smart grid space. There are dozens of energy monitoring and management solutions available, and more are coming online this year. There are well financed and well respected companies providing compelling solutions for utilities and consumers. Google could very well marginalize some providers, but dominance is no fait accompli. Would be competitors might even find opportunities to offer solutions that run on Google’s traditionally open platforms.
C’est la vie – Consumers should have their options.
I'm as big a fan of Google as the next guy, and I will soon profile a number of quality HEM solutions (Google included) that consumers can begin taking advantage of, even without a smart meter. Let’s just hope we can keep Google’s AdWords off our in-home energy management displays.
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