Porter's Five Forces - Google

Extract

[...] For each service, Google has many competitors. II. New entrants As regards the threat of new entrants, it is almost non-existent. No other company like Google exists, and it would be difficult for a young company to set up and offer the same services like Google, or even to supplant the company. There are a lot of barriers to entry, especially the costs, which are extremely high, and which do not allow a young firm to be able to set up. [...]

[...] When it comes to Google Maps, there is hardly any competition and the platform is clearly the market leader. In addition, if the platform displays competitors on each of its services, these competitors are different from each other, and there is no other company like Google that is able to offer them all at once. So, it can be said that there is very little rivalry between the competitors, as they cannot compare to Google and no company of similar size exists. Plus, the offerings are far too different for Google to be really threatened by another company. [...]

[...] For its search engine as well as its Android operating system, we can cite as main competitor Apple, with its safari search engine and the IOS operating system. Apple is, therefore, a competitor that can overshadow Google, but it's not the only one. We can also cite the social networks that have developed over the years. They alone constitute search engines and means of communication in their own right. No more sending e-mails or even text messages to each other, instant messaging is now the reflex of many users. [...]

[...] Substitute products We can start with the threat of substitute products that Google may face. Depending on the service, we are referring to, Google will essentially have substitute products. As far as the search engine is concerned, there are very few substitutes. As for Gmail, we can note faxes as substitute products, but which tend to be used less and less. We especially note the various messaging services, other than e-mails, such as SMS or instant messaging services available on social networks. [...]

[...] If they wanted to switch platforms, the services offered to them would be more restricted, take more time and also cost them more. IV. Bargaining power of suppliers As far as suppliers are concerned, we can observe the same phenomenon as for customers. Faced with a company as powerful as Google, the room for manoeuvre and negotiating powers are limited. Suppliers who have a customer as large as Google have no choice but to keep that customer. In addition, Google would have no difficulty in switching suppliers without causing a problem. Google's bargaining power over these suppliers is, therefore, important. [...]