Technology continues evolving as it always has, but some tech companies have carved niches for themselves. These tech giants– Amazon, Apple, Alphabet (Google), Microsoft, and Meta (Facebook)– make life easier in different aspects. Are these companies just overrated? To what extent do they dominate different segments of the market? What makes these companies stand out in the tech market? This article answers these questions.
Looking into the statistics
Statistics help us see to what extent these giants dominate. More than 50% of global online ad spending goes through Meta or Alphabet. In search, Google has more than a 60% share in the United States and over 90% in Europe, Brazil, and India.
Apple earns more in annual profit than Starbucks makes in revenue. Microsoft is a top-three vendor to 84% of businesses. Amazon takes in more than 40% of online spending in the United States and runs nearly one-third of the internet through Amazon Web Services.
Google – Very great but not so versatile
Google wasn’t the first search engine, but it was the only one to achieve massive-scale success. It also has the best, most well-defended portfolio of reinforcing competitive advantages in that core franchise. But does this tech giant have any vulnerability?
Google+ was a short-lived challenge to Facebook, and Google Cloud remains far behind Microsoft’s Azure in taking on Amazon Web Services. Google proves that by overwhelmingly dominating one segment of the market, you’re not so likely to find new ways to grow outside it.
Apple and Microsoft– What makes these companies ‘bigger giants’?
Microsoft has always concentrated on B2B rather than consumer markets. It has established credibility by using data from cloud-based applications to increase responsiveness and improve continuously. However, it faces new competitors such as Salesforce, which acquired Slack, and threatens Microsoft’s workforce productivity applications.
Apple, although not the biggest, is the biggest moneymaker. It commands more profits than the rest of the smartphone industry combined- and it has the highest market cap, over $2 trillion. However, without the next generation of revolutionary gadgets, Apple’s continued financial dominance isn’t assured.
Amazon– A giant fighting competition on all sides
Amazon has a culture of relentlessness and has built some incredibly successful unrelated businesses, such as Amazon Web Services. AWS gives itself a strong competitive advantage in contrast to e-commerce, ensuring profits in the future.
However, although it disrupted Walmart, Walmart is still a major competitor. Also, Amazon is fighting against incumbents with established brick-and-mortar footprints and growing online sales with free shipping to rival Prime. It also has to compete with focused start-ups like direct-to-consumer producers.
Meta(Facebook)- Is the social network giant so ‘invincible’?
Meta is the world’s largest social network and has invested wisely internally. For instance, it snapped up Instagram early and kept it as an independent platform while strengthening customer stickiness. But Meta also has its vulnerable sides.
Meta is increasingly under fire for its role in spreading misinformation and hate online, which could cause it to lose credibility among users and advertisers. Also, the $19 billion purchase of WhatsApp and the $2 billion it spent on the VR firm, Oculus, hasn’t yielded any ROI.