I was recently reading an
article (thanks to Joe) that was painting a scenario where Google could reach $100 billion in revenue. They identified telecommunication, enterprise software applications, entertainment/media, publishing, e-payments and next gen search as new markets for Google to conquer. While these markets may easily exceed the $100 billion market value, the question is if Google can capture that revenue. Even with a run rate of $15.9 billion we are hearing about how difficult it is to hire employees matching the talent level and motivation of the current group. Also, some of these markets may require new capabilities, especially on the sales side, for Google. There are many inherent delivery risks in these segments that may reduce the probability of success. The other challenge is in extrapolating the ad based business model into new areas. Finally, there is a perception that the company is becoming too big and powerful and this may reduce its brand power in many of these markets.