History of Google company 10

Space race

In the fall of 2004, during the flight to Spain, Bryn and Page received unpleasant news. Sales Director Omid Kordestani told his bosses that Yahoo! took over Google in the struggle for the right to be the exclusive advertising agent for AOL Europe. Bryn, who dreamed of working with the European branch of AOL, thought. Thanks to an agreement with AOL, Google has significantly expanded its presence in the US Internet space. Now she needed to declare herself in Europe. Yahoo!For several years, has delivered ads to English, French and German AOL sites, (total 6.3 million users), as well as various AOL partner sites. In the last fight Yahoo! very simply furnished Google, offering more money and more attractive terms.

Without losing a second, Bryn began to act. First of all, he instructed Kordestani to inform Philip Rowley, the head of AOL Europe, that the plane with the founders of Google changes course - it will land not in Madrid, but in London. Friends wanted to meet Rowley in person on the same day. Sergei also ordered an increase in the amount suggested by Google.

Rowley flatly refused to resume negotiations with the company, saying that AOL had already entered into a cooperation agreement with Yahoo !. “The decision has already been made,” he said. “The process is complete.”

Sergey Bryn didn’t like the answer “no”. From a height of 9 thousand meters, he told Kordestani to assure Rowley that AOL and its management would greatly benefit from the meeting, and ask him not to sign an agreement with Yahoo !. Bryn added that for him personally the opportunity to talk with Rowley himself is very important. In a few hours, their plane would land in London, and he would like to know where and when he could meet him.

After receiving this information, Rowley decided to contact America Online headquarters in Virginia. The company's CEO, John Miller, who has already given the go-ahead to the deal with Yahoo! I heard from him that Google executives are heading to London. Rowley also said that Brin and Page made it clear that they are very interested in working with AOL Europe. Miller, an experienced manager and subtle analyst, knew the founders of the search giant and admired Google. But AOL directors had one problem: they already notified Yahoo! that the company was the winner in the fight for a partnership with AOL Europe. Miller decided that if the founders of Google, when they arrived in London, slightly increase the amount of their proposal, AOL will sign an agreement with Yahoo !. If Google offers something new and enticing,it will be fair - because the documents have not been signed yet - to resume the process and deliver Yahoo! in the knowledge that Google at the last moment made a very interesting offer. Rowley, in turn, decided that he would hold a confidential meeting with Brin and Page, and assured Miller that he would keep him informed of all events.

Purposeful and always fought until the last Bryn did not doubt the correctness of his decision to deploy the plane. He had charisma: he was able to convince people and was a great negotiator. He really did not want to miss the opportunity to give a new impetus to the development of Google. As managers and major shareholders of Google, Brin and Page, unlike Kordestani, had the right to give large long-term financial obligations on behalf of the company. Their personal presence in the negotiations was necessary. At that moment, for Bryn, nothing was more important than being able to place the Google window on as many European websites as possible. Analyzing the situation, Brin and Page decided that they would carefully listen to Rowley and try to make him an offer that was impossible to refuse. They really hopedthat when their plane lands in London, it will not be too late to replay the situation in their favor.

Rowley, through Kordestani, told the founders of Google that he would meet with them at the London Milestone Hotel, not far from the AOL Europe office. It would be unwise to take Brin and Paige in his office: it could cause unnecessary questions and gossip, because after a loud exit on the stock exchange they were recognized. Bryn was satisfied: at least, Rowley agreed to listen.

Arriving at Milestone, where Rowley was waiting for them, Bryn and Page presented him a tempting, profitable and risk-free contract. He envisioned a financial guarantee of tens of millions of dollars and exceeded the amount offered by Yahoo !. There was no point in bargaining. Rowley called a group of his deal makers to the hotel, and Bryn and Page brought his experts. While Google and AOL Europe were talking to each other, their working groups discussed the details of a long-term contract in another room. Whenever a question or disagreement arose, members of both groups consulted with their bosses and found consensus. Things went swimmingly. Rowley saw that Brin and Page were personally interested in working with AOL Europe, and therefore, apologizing, he went out and called Miller at the headquarters of the parent company in Virginia.

Miller, who had been searching for interesting options for several months that would have provided further development for AOL, was stunned by the unexpectedly good news from London. Hanging up, he went out into the corridor to track down his senior assistant, John Buckley.

“Something incredible is happening in Europe,” Miller told him. - Google made a much more interesting offer than Yahoo !. I think it would be right to provide Yahoo! opportunity to join the game.

Miller, at that time discussing with representatives of Yahoo! details of the deal (after all, it was understood that Yahoo! won the fight for a partnership with AOL, ordered to inform Yahoo! managers about possible changes. Rowley immediately contacted Yahoo! and informed its executives that Google had substantially increased the amount of financial guarantee, and therefore AOL resumes the negotiation process and would like to get a revised offer from Yahoo! The difference between the two offers is very significant, Rowley said. After a while, Yahoo’s executives were irritated by the unexpected turn, informed AOL that the revision They are not going to quote their proposal.

Bryn and Page were confident that the high price they paid for the partnership with AOL would pay off in the long run, because they would be able to attract the attention of European Internet users. The same evening, they signed a legally binding agreement. In order to raise it to the official rank, one of the AOL employees had to go to the bank and withdraw 120 British pounds from the company's account: according to English law, the agreement takes effect only after a certain amount of money passes from hand to hand.

“The decisive factor was their personal presence,” noted Rowley. - It is very important to know that the people with whom you are going to work can be trusted. We, the European branch of AOL, had not cooperated with Google before, and therefore the arrival of its leaders made it possible to clarify a great deal. And since they arrived, we could not afford to give up the deal. Once they had serious intentions, there was no point. ”

Rowley noted that Brin and Page, who were flying all night and then discussing the terms of the contract all day, looked very tired. “Nevertheless, they were calm and cool. I had a desire to cooperate with these guys. If they had not come, this would not have happened. ”

According to Miller, Brin and Page demonstrated that they are not only company founders and talented programmers, but also practicing managers and aggressive businessmen. Programmers with their perseverance and the ability to negotiate still search. This is what sets Google apart from many other companies, he said.

Google, led by Brin, Page and Eric Schmidt, has a lot: strong leaders, and bright prospects, so the company will be an excellent partner for AOL, Miller said, noting Brin’s contribution to reversing the negotiations.

“The founders and Eric are closely involved in the business of the company,” he continued. - They take business very seriously and decide all the main issues themselves. Very smart guys. These three work well and smoothly, as a team. AOL and I personally have great respect for what they have achieved and how they did it. Not everyone achieves similar results. No one has been able to reach such heights so quickly. And very few are just as stubbornly sticking to their basic principles. ”

On October nineteenth, exactly two months after the IPO, Google and AOL issued press releases announcing a broad cooperation agreement in Europe. For Overture, Yahoo! This was the second defeat in the fight for the partnership with AOL. “This is a competitive market. Our collaboration with Overture was successful, but now we’ve made a choice in favor of Google, ”said AOL Europe spokesman.

Overture said it made the decision to leave the game because the deal with AOL Europe was financially disadvantageous to it. “Overture enters into cooperation agreements that are beneficial for it both strategically and financially. In the case of AOL Europe, these criteria could not be met. "

Google’s press release did not say what role Brin and Page played in this process. Kordestani noted that the agreement was an important milestone for both companies: "AOL Europe will receive a significant increase in revenues, and users of its sites will benefit from the fact that relevant commercial information will be available to them."

News about the pace of development of new products and the company's European victory over Yahoo! clearly not added to competitors confidence in their abilities. New services and software products with enviable regularity left the Googleplex and reached millions of users around the world. It seemed as if Google had involved competitors in the “space race”, the winner of which would be the one who created the most powerful and diverse arsenal of services. No company attracted such close attention of the press - every step of the search giant was instantly recognized by the whole world. Moreover, now that Google has turned into a joint stock company, it has become the darling of the business press, since many specialized publications cover the activities of only those firms whose shares are listed on the stock exchange.

The status of an open joint-stock company allowed Google to fully concentrate on the fact that it did better than others - on introducing innovations in the field of search and related areas and customer service. During this period, Google not only succeeded in the “space race”, leaving behind Microsoft and other companies, but also strengthened its leadership in key areas (information retrieval and advertising) in the US, Europe and Asia.

Internet technology experts have determined how Google’s approach is fundamentally different from the approaches of other companies. For example, the struggle with a single competitor is not considered a motivating factor in a company; it does not succumb to the temptation to create a “sworn enemy” for itself. “Google is not fighting a particular firm,” says AOL CEO John Miller. - Most companies feel the need to "enemy", so it is easier for them to motivate themselves. Brin and Page are motivated by their mission. Obviously, they think differently, they are driven by lofty goals. ”

Larry, Sergey and Eric shared managerial responsibilities among themselves, based not on job titles, but from the considerations that this division would allow them to maintain the dynamics of Google’s development, prevent the emergence of “bottlenecks” and ensure the implementation of short-term and long-term goals. Managers constantly keep in touch with each other, but at the same time clearly divide the processes, procedures and responsibilities. Despite the presence of two presidents and one CEO, the work they oversee is not very much in line with their official status.

Larry and Sergey are located in the corner room of the recently upgraded 43rd Googleplex. Like other programmers and engineers, they work side by side, under the same roof. The modest design of office number 211 does not attract attention, and to find it among office mazes, you need to go a long way. Larry and Sergey spend most of their time in their office, but sometimes they go upstairs to the terrace, from where one can observe the movements of staff and visitors to the complex. Eric's office was first located nearby, but after the founders moved to a new building, the project of which was developed with the participation of Larry, their offices began to divide several tens of meters, including a covered passage between the two buildings.

Having founded the company in 1998, Larry took the position of general director, and Sergey - president and chairman of the board of directors, and they distributed the positions by throwing a coin. Then, on the eve of the IPO, Larry became president of production, and Sergei - president of technology. Larry's day-to-day responsibilities consist mainly of control over current projects, while Sergey focuses on corporate culture, motivation, negotiations, and long-term projects.

Eric, as CEO, is in charge of ongoing operations - a very time-consuming duty in a company that is growing at such a rapid pace. He focused on creating financial, accounting and other systems that could be expanded as the company grows, as well as on the introduction of the infrastructure necessary for the implementation of international expansion. He also carefully tracks the financial results of Google. In addition, Erik fell in control of scheduling operations and reporting to members of the board of directors.

Every week, leaders hold a meeting devoted exclusively to the development of new software products. They study ideas for new projects and discuss which project they should allocate resources for. Decisions are usually made immediately - if two out of three managers have no objections. Larry and Sergey always sit side by side at such meetings. They already know each other so well that they can communicate without words.

As the deal with AOL Europe has shown, Sergey is a master of communication with potential partners and managing the negotiation process. In this case, he ac: can highlight the most important and bring the process to its logical conclusion. Thanks to his personal qualities, high intelligence and a wonderful sense of humor, he manages to smooth out sharp edges and complete the process to mutual pleasure. Sergey also assumed the role of Google’s trendsetter and culture keeper: he allocates space for nursing mothers, organizes the delivery of free baby food and maintains a beneficial, comfortable and healthy working environment on the Googleplex. He is tirelessly looking for ways to motivate employees, as well as to strengthen the image of a “student” company entrenched in Google and its status as an extremely attractive employer. Besides,Sergey is working on problems in the field of computer technology and acts as a catalyst for long-term projects, many of which can be real scientific breakthroughs.

According to Terry Winograd, a professor at Stanford University, Sergey is in charge of three “Ps”: perspective, policy and personnel. (When CEO Eric Schmidt was asked what the motto “Do no harm!” Means, he replied that “harm” is all that Sergey considers harmful.) Larry is more attracted to the actual software development process and the work of the information centers, including issues related to costs and performance. Nevertheless, their interests often overlap, which leads to heated debates and discussions.

Larry focuses on the search server and its services. He constantly comes up with interesting new items for users. In addition, he plays a key role in the recruitment process for a wide variety of specialists - from talented managers to aces programmers. This does not mean that he personally talks with each candidate, but he looks at the resume and examines the lists of selected candidates. Every Tuesday morning, Larry meets with the orders on appointments made the day before after long discussions, and sometimes puts them in doubt. He is always provided with detailed dossiers on candidates. Before coming to Larry, the candidate must pass a dozen interviews, pass tests to determine the level of qualifications, pass psychological tests, submit a diploma supplement,write a program at the request of the interviewer and get a detailed assessment of personal qualities from several interviewers.

Larry also determines the degree of importance of short-term technical projects. He maintains a list of the hundred most promising projects for which human or financial resources may be required. This allows you to select the most successful ideas that were born thanks to the 20% rule.

In addition, Larry is developing a Googleplex case design. Strolling around the offices of other companies, he sometimes pulls out his camera to capture a room with an interesting design. Larry is a supporter of large, roomy rooms that allow employees to fully communicate, rather than fenced-off small wards, isolating people from each other. He also handles the design of conference rooms and meeting rooms. At the same time, he insists on the need to use environmentally friendly technologies and materials (including lighting fixtures) in the Googleplex enclosures.

When in 2004, the 43rd building decided to make it more spacious, Larry was directly involved in the development of interior design and its realization. Today, this building in the very center of the complex is considered by employees to be a place where you can relax and unwind, because it looks more like a fantastic decoration. “We wanted to emphasize that Google is primarily a product development company, not an intermediary or trading company,” says Larry. In the process of reconstruction, the interior of the building was completely rebuilt: large, spacious rooms appeared with half-floors and alcoves, open pipelines and a variety of textures and metals, creating a special industrial aesthetics. The restrooms are equipped with extravagant toilets with a touch panel, six levels of heated seats, an auto-cleaning function,drying and draining. Meeting rooms, painted in blue, red, yellow and green and equipped with amusing furniture, are a little like children's rooms. The main conference room, to which the majestic grand staircase leads, is decorated with huge, floor-to-ceiling glass doors. I just want to go out and soar into the heavens, but, fortunately, no one will be able to do this. Rooms and halls have original names: for example, meeting rooms on the second floor are named after the distant African cities of Rabat, Timbuktu, Mogadishu.Fortunately, no one will be able to do this. Rooms and halls have original names: for example, meeting rooms on the second floor are named after the distant African cities of Rabat, Timbuktu, Mogadishu.Fortunately, no one will be able to do this. Rooms and halls have original names: for example, meeting rooms on the second floor are named after the distant African cities of Rabat, Timbuktu, Mogadishu.

Larry immediately decided that the main work areas of the 43rd building should not be divided into small rooms. True, there are such room-cells on each floor, but in each of them there are two or three huge monitors with a flat panel - like individual IMAX screens [15]. The 43rd building also has tent halls, which are separated from each other by a white cloth and are equipped with air conditioning.

In contrast, the 211st room, where the founders work, has more familiar concrete walls and sliding doors. It is made up of a dozen monitors (Larry and Sergey usually use several monitors at once), a pair of desks, a couch, indoor plants and an air purifier. The terrace above the 211st office is covered with artificial grass and equipped with an electric massage chair, ordered in Japan. This place is intended only for Larry, Sergey and invited guests. In the long foyer leading to the main staircase of the building, there is a huge stand called “Google Masterplan”, dotted with multi-colored project records.

While Google delivered new software to the surface and won new supporters, Microsoft, with its billion-dollar bank accounts, multiplied new agreements on the settlement of antitrust lawsuit agreements with claimant companies that provided for multimillion-dollar payments. All of these agreements were the result of a legal conflict between the developer and the Anti-Monopoly Committee of the US Department of Justice.

The head of Microsoft, Bill Gates, said nothing about future versions of Windows and how it would eventually overwhelm and crush Google, as it did with other competitors in its time. However, a lawsuit on violation of antitrust laws, filed by the Justice Ministry in 1998, when Google was founded, hung over the company with a Damocles sword, preventing its top managers from fully concentrating on development strategies, and Google, meanwhile, was “capturing” the Internet. “For the past few years, we have mainly dealt with resolving legal disputes with other companies,” admitted Microsoft General Counsel Brad Smith. (Under the settlement agreements, Microsoft paid $ 1.6 billion to Sun Microsystems, $ 775 million - IBM, $ 700 million - Time Warner and $ 536 million - Novell Inc.) Google has steadily increased its presence in the international arena, and Gates puzzled over how to catch up and beat the company, crushing it just like Netscape. The main problem for him was that with each passing day, the superiority of Google over Microsoft in the field of search only grew. Google could boast a world-famous brand, partnerships with a number of large companies, sales professionals on all five continents and other advantages (including computer infrastructure that is unparalleled), and therefore it was pointless to launch a surprise attack against it. And since all Google services are provided free of charge, a price attack on the company would not have yielded any results either.The main problem for him was that with each passing day, the superiority of Google over Microsoft in the field of search only grew. Google could boast a world-famous brand, partnerships with a number of large companies, sales professionals on all five continents and other advantages (including computer infrastructure that is unparalleled), and therefore it was pointless to launch a surprise attack against it. And since all Google services are provided free of charge, a price attack on the company would not have yielded any results either.The main problem for him was that with each passing day, the superiority of Google over Microsoft in the field of search only grew. Google could boast a world-famous brand, partnerships with a number of large companies, sales professionals on all five continents and other advantages (including computer infrastructure that is unparalleled), and therefore it was pointless to launch a surprise attack against it. And since all Google services are provided free of charge, a price attack on the company would not have yielded any results either.sales professionals on all five continents and other advantages (including computer infrastructure that is unparalleled), and therefore it was pointless to launch a surprise attack against it. And since all Google services are provided free of charge, a price attack on the company would not have yielded any results either.sales professionals on all five continents and other advantages (including computer infrastructure that is unparalleled), and therefore it was pointless to launch a surprise attack against it. And since all Google services are provided free of charge, a price attack on the company would not have yielded any results either.

The more Gates spoke, the more it seemed that he was losing touch with reality. In the fall of 2004, Microsoft was going to present its search engine to the public, which was supposed to be a sensation. The company wanted to tell the world that its search engine now works with five billion web pages, surpassing Google in this index, whose index totaled four billion. But a few hours before Microsoft released a message about its achievement, Google announced that its index no longer contains four, but eight billion pages, covering almost the entire Internet, which means that Google is still unmatched. The company placed this number on the main page of its website - in the spirit of McDonalds with its "... Billions Served" ("Served ... Billions") on advertising billboards. Microsoft, which never managed to surprise the world,lost to Google again.

Nevertheless, Google still felt an urgent need for innovation. Unlike competitors, it did not have the means of “binding” users. Google did not ask for registration, did not have services that would keep people on the website for a long time. If AOL, Yahoo! and other leading Internet companies boasted that users spend more and more time on their sites, Google was proud of how quickly it provides search results, meets the needs of users and sends them to those sites where they have the information they need. Some experts considered this a serious flaw. Unlike AOL or Yahoo! who could scroll through the ad several times before the users who opened a mailbox on the site or regularly attend the thematic sections,Google had a very short time to display advertising.

However, many did not realize that its main strength is not in this. Due to the unique Google equipment company has such operational capabilities, which does not have any organization on the planet. It will be very difficult for a newcomer in the field of Internet technologies to create something similar, says Peter Norvig, director of search quality. “We're not behind Dell,” he says, meaning that Google itself assembles and sets up every personal computer that becomes part of its huge network. In addition, before launching a new product, Brin and Page thoroughly analyze its potential so that Google will continue to have a competitive advantage over those who copy its idea.

In October 2004, the company released the younger brother of its search engine - a search engine for personal PC. With it, you can find any information stored on your PC, as fast as on the Internet. Microsoft has promised to release something similar for several years, but things have not progressed beyond promises. New Google has bridged the gap between fast and high-quality information search on the Internet and exhausting "hunting" for materials stored on a personal computer: text documents, spreadsheets, long lost email messages, etc. This program is available in English, Chinese, French and a dozen other languages .

“Given the importance of the information stored on a personal computer, it seemed strange that what you need is easier to find on any web site than in the wilds of a hard drive at arm's length,” says Marissa Mayer, Sales Director BY. “Google Desktop Search is something like a photographic memory for a computer: it instantly finds Microsoft Word, Outlook Express, PowerPoint, Excel and AOL Instant Messenger files.”

The main drawback of the program was that it would not be difficult for an overly curious employee to quickly find on the computer of a colleague the information of interest to him, taking advantage of his absence in the workplace. This could not help but disturb, but at the same time it said that the program was working properly. Google, realizing the seriousness of the problem, provided Desktop Search with protection tools, allowing the user to enable and disable it, and also giving him the opportunity to decide which part of the hard disk to make available for search.

Apart from the fact that Google Desktop Search helped a lot when searching for old and new materials, it also put Microsoft in an awkward position because it was the best tool for finding lost files in the Windows shell. With the advent of this program, the need to put materials into folders and directories also disappeared: Google will find the necessary file no matter how and where the user stores it. In addition, Google has violated the hegemony of Microsoft in the field of corporate software by releasing an inexpensive hardware search engine for corporate clients, which allows indexing up to one hundred thousand internal documents.

The disc, packed in a spectacular blue box with the words “Google Mini”, cost only $ 2,995. Having won the recognition of ordinary users, Google was striving to enter the lucrative office software market.

Yahoo!offered users a wider range of services, but Google remained true to search. Both companies now and then announced the launch of a new product, trying to beat a competitor. After Yahoo! announced that its search engine is “browsing” a few billion pages more than Google, companies have publicly exchanged “courtesies” about whether Yahoo exaggerates. Some new items immediately gained popularity among users, others seemed interesting twists and have no practical value, but nevertheless contributed to the fact that brands were constantly on the ear.

To overshadow Yahoo! Google worked tirelessly on new projects. The Google Maps service allowed to look through satellite images of the most different points of the globe, and Google Local - to find local organizations and enterprises. My Search History (“My Search Queries”) gave users the ability to view all the queries they made on Google ever, as well as search results. Using Google Video, you can download and view video files, and thanks to Google Mobile Search, you can search for information on the Internet through mobile phones, smartphones and other devices. The company also released GLAT - Google Labs Aptitude Test, a comic standard test for programmers and other potential Google employees (see Appendix 2), containing both challenging tasks,so are the tasks for quick-thinking (like the suggestion to improve “this space” under the image of an empty rectangle). Google Suggest program in the process of entering a word in the search box offers options for its completion. There is also Google Scholar - a tool for finding articles, annotations from scientific journals, technical reports and doctoral theses. The company seeks to cover all sectors of society - from housewives to top managers and scientists.

If Google wanted to communicate something important to users, it turned its homepage into a bulletin board - any new text on it instantly attracts attention. From time to time, the company announces the launch of a new product for a day or two, and in December 2004, when a tsunami hit the coast of Southeast Asia, it launched a call to provide humanitarian aid to victims. This manifestation of humanity made Google closer to users, aroused sympathy and allowed charitable and humanitarian funds to send funds and basic necessities to everyone who needed help.

The popularity of Google did not pass by the attention of well-known politicians. Former Presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton, former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and Colin Powell - regular Google users - visited the Googleplex to see the work from the inside with their own eyes. Former Vice President Al Gore, who advised the company on international politics and opened a cable TV channel with it, included an entry in his resume stating that he worked as a freelance Google consultant.

Taking into account how many objects and moments you can capture with the help of booming digital photos, Google released Picasa, with which you can search, organize and edit photos stored on your computer. In the field of searching graphic information, the company also did not stand still: its index for the popular service “Image Search” at the beginning of 2006 totaled more than 1.2 billion images, still having no equal. Google also launched new services that allow users to view stock quotes, order a taxi and get a weather forecast for selected cities. A little later, the company launched Google Earth: it gives you the opportunity to “hover” over a selected area of the Earth. Even though impressive special effects in movies and on television are not unusual today,This tool significantly expands the search boundaries, turning computer users into virtual travelers.

"Sometimes even the most inveterate skeptic can not but admire the things that a personal computer allows to do today," wrote The Wall Street Journal columnist Walt Mossberg. “And one of those“ wow! ”Moments comes when you launch Google Earth for the first time. This is a vivid example of what opportunities the computer and the Internet have opened up to ordinary users. Of course, it’s not necessary to run Google Earth every day, but you should definitely play with it - if only because it is unique in its own way. ”

Soon, the company released Google Moon - a program that allows you to explore the surface of the satellite of our planet.

Sergey Brin and Larry Page were pleased. Google employees and their families too. There was no limit to their delight when Brin and Page rented the nearest cinema for 24 hours and provided everyone with free tickets for the premiere of the latest Star Wars episode. Not surprisingly, with this approach to people, technology and innovation, Google won the round of the space race with little effort.