We all have used Google Maps to get to places that are relatively new, view restaurants in the places nearby and to send our friends and family our location letting then know that we are safe. Similarly some of us also use Waze as it works relatively faster than Google Maps also just not that popularized. But little do we know that both of them are owned by Google. Recently, Google's parent company Alphabet Inc. said in a statement that it plans on combining them both.
Google said it will merge teams working on mapping service Waze and products like Google Maps in a bid to consolidate processes. The Alphabet Inc-owned company is set to integrate with Waze, which it acquired in 2013 for $1 billion, into Google Geo, its portfolio of real-world mapping products that include Google Maps, Google Earth, and Street View.
But first let’s dig deeper into the background and history of Google Maps and Waze.
Google Maps is a web mapping platform and consumer application offered by Google. It offers street maps, 360° interactive panoramic views of streets, real-time traffic conditions, and route planning for traveling by foot, car, bike, air and public transportation. In October 2004 Google converted the app developed by Lars and Jens Rasmussen into a web application. After additional acquisitions of a geospatial data visualization company, Google Maps was launched in February 2005.
Source:- https://www.bgr.in/how-to/how-to-pin-location-google-maps-android-ios-desktop-1286750/
Waze is France's most popular navigation app, formerly known as FreeMap Israel. It is a subsidiary company of Google that provides satellite navigation software on smartphones and other computers that support the GPS (Global Positioning System). Waze describes its app as a community-driven initiative that is free to download and use.
Waze operates by collecting map data, travel times, and traffic information from users and transmits it to the Waze server, at no cost to Waze. Its users commonly referred as “Wazers” that can report accidents, traffic jams, speed, and police traps and from the online map editor, can update roads, landmarks, house numbers, etc. The software was originally developed in Israel by Waze Mobile, a company founded by Israeli entrepreneurs Ehud Shabtai, Amir Shinar, and Uri Levine. In June 2013, Waze Mobile was acquired by Google for US$1.3 billion.
In June 2013, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) of the United States started considering whether Google's acquisition of Waze was potentially violating the competition law as Waze was among a very small group of competitors in the mobile mapping sector against Google Maps. The FTC later cited that it would not challenge the deal. The Office of Fair Trading of the United Kingdom and the Israel Antitrust Authority also started an investigation, in which the acquisition was ultimately the resort. However, in 2020, the FTC declared that it would be re-examining Google's acquisition of Waze.
Waze and Maps have been sharing their features ever since Google acquired Waze. Waze's traffic data started appearing in Maps shortly after the acquisition, with speed limits, radar locations and other features including subsequently. On the other side, Waze has had the merit share from Google's know-how in search optimization. The FTC launched an antitrust investigation shortly after the acquisition, and at the time, Google said it was keeping Waze as a separate unit "for now."
Source:- https://www.quora.com/Why-Waze-is-much-better-than-Google-maps-in-navigation
It has been nine years since then, but according to former CEO Noam Bardin, Waze has not enjoyed absolute freedom. "All of our growth at Waze post acquisition was from the work we did. Looking back, we could have probably grown faster and much more efficiently had we stayed independent," he stated in a LinkedIn post last year.
Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai said the company would streamline processes and consolidate investments wherever they overlap. The Geo division will absorb over 500 Waze employees. While Waze recently announced an Android Automotive app that will see wider availability next year meanwhile, Google services, like YouTube Music, will integrate with Waze for in-app audio controls. As a result, one organization will oversee Google Maps, Street View, Earth, and Waze for less mapping-related overlap. It is possible to use Waze on Android Auto by installing it as an app from any smartphone.
"When you drive, you can experience safer and more convenient journeys whilst eliminating the hassle of smartphone usage". Waze’s blog says "With this new experience, Renault (automobile company) drivers will have all Waze real-time routing, navigation and alerts, plus settings, preferences and saved places, built into their car display."
No layoffs are planned as of now, though Waze will no longer have its own CEO. This is happening in the context of tech companies looking for efficiencies in the current economic ecosystem. Notably, Google has been streamlining assistant experiences to focus on voice advancements. Waze CEO Neha Parikh will exit the company following a transition period. Waze will continue to be a standalone app, with about 151 million monthly active users worldwide. "Google remains deeply committed to Waze’s unique brand, its beloved app and its thriving community of volunteers and users," a spokesperson told the WSJ.
With advertisement revenue slowing down at Google, CEO Sundar Pichai told in September that he hoped to make the company 20 percent more efficient. Part of that, he said, could be achieved via layoffs and merging multiple products.
Source:- https://www.engadget.com/google-merges-maps-and-waze-teams-but-apps-will-remain-separate-104557592.html
Waze is a highly popular navigation app (particularly in Europe), thanks to its crowd-sourced nature. Individual users can easily report traffic, police, crashes, map problems, radar cameras and more with the touch of a button. Google Maps added the ability to report driving incidents back in 2019, but is less geared around crowdsourcing. The company reported a revenue of nearly $69.1 billion in the third quarter this year, rise 6% from 2021. Its advertising revenue also grew by only 2.5% compared to last year’s growth of 41%. In a statement accompanying the growth results, Pichai said, “We are sharpening our focus on a clear set of product and business priorities.”
While Google already has the most widely used mapping tools in mobile, the company laid out a reported $1.03 billion so that its main competitors would not be able to potentially mount a competitive strike against its leading role here. Looking at the positive consequences of the acquisition, the Waze deal will help Google enhance its own mapping service with a wealth of real-time data on the best drive route to take as well as traffic deets.
Also, Google outbidding Facebook and Apple to acquire social mapping service Waze is the latest example of just how crucial location data is in the mobile business.
Apple, which reportedly also had its hat in the ring to acquire Waze, revealed its first stand-alone mobile mapping service a year ago as part of iOS 6. However, the poorly-executed strategy ended up being one of Apple’s biggest blunders in years as users expressed their displeasure with its lack of accuracy. Apple has had a hard time rebounding from its mapping fiasco, with grumblings that it is losing its competitive edge.
Facebook was also supposedly eyeing on Waze as the social network platform tries to build its mobile strategy with a focus on delivering better location-based mobile advertising and optimizing local search results.
One of the strategic advantages offered by Waze is that it has already acquired significant location-based data through its services and has the infrastructure in solid place to continue to build a powerful location database. Expectations are rife that mobile users will spend a growing amount of time accessing maps from their smartphones.
Going ahead, Google hopes to boost its own mapping services through the acquisition and create an as much user friendly experience and environment as possible.
Article by:- Urishita Gambhir
Edited by:- J Shree Nidhi
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