Information Management SystemsFebruary 3, 2009IntroductionGoogle has become one of the biggest corporate conglomerates in the Internet and business world. How could a simple idea proposed in a dorm room by Larry Page and Sergey Brin grow into this huge giant of the business world? The purpose of this case study is to examine the reasons as well as possible scenarios that will help Google lead the charge throughout the new millennium.
1) Evaluate Google using the competitive forces and value chain models.
There are several information systems that companies may apply their business strategy to, in hopes, of achieving a competitive advantage. Two of these models that will be examined are Porter's Competitive Forces Model and the Business Value Chain Model. The first of these systems - Porter's competitive forces model refers to the five factors that affect competitive advantage. Although one may believe competitive advantage is about making better business maneuvers then a competitor/rival, four other factors that have an effect on competitive advantage or supplier power, barriers to entry/new market entrants, threat of substitutes and buying power.
Google Chrome OS on VMWare
Google Chrome
English: Left to right, Eric E. Schmidt, Sergey Br...In regards to Google, the article mentions many of the factors that lead to competitive advantage, but the most significant competitive advantage it has over its competitors is its closely guarded highly secretive IT infrastructure. This infrastructure is estimated to be around 450,000 servers from around the world localized in 25 sites (Louis, 2004). The company that was well known for its search engines quickly branched out into other avenues of computer operatives, which included using the Linux system, MapReduce, WorkQueue, and Google File System. Each entry into different market structures seemed to be done with relative ease which leads to a much more extensive competitive advantage. Google's worries of potential substitutes to their services are unwarranted as vendors seek advertising...