In the current world of ecosystem, single company is hoping to own and operate in more fields than ever, making itself a conglomerate. And in the world where tech industry has given more to the wheel of economy, some may wonder who is the "king" among the players.
The question may have different answers. This is because some people judge companies for how big it is from many factors. These include: company's revenue, company's actual earning, total profitability, efficiency, profitability per employee, overall market capitalization, influence, and so forth.
But among all things, there is one thing in common if concerning tech companies. They constantly answer the needs of technology and its growing impact in people's day-day-lives, and made this the principal drivers for reaching success.
In 2014, people is seeing Samsung as the "king" in term of total revenue. The South Korean multinational conglomerate company that is headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, has made more revenue than any other tech companies by giving more to customers. As the big player in the mobile device industry, Samsung is seen as a threat by its closest and more or less, equally powerful competitors: Apple and Google.
Apple, since the beginning of its time, and seems to forever going to be, keeping its products premium, exclusive and tightly integrated with each other. Apple's co-founder and late CEO Steve Jobs once said: "We don't get a chance to do that many things, and every one should be really excellent." Apple is exclusive from the start. And whether the company "steals" or "creates" innovation, it's always trying to make it sleek and in perfect quality inside out, all bulked in hefty price tags.
Samsung and Google, on the other hand, are seeing things rather differently. The two are increasingly competing to offer the alternative open platform, a platform that Apple isn't that happy in giving. Samsung and Google wanted to own the foundation that everyone builds on by creating a hub where everything is connected.
However, when Google is famous as an internet company that is moving itself to hardware, mobile devices and "dreams" of the future, Samsung, literally, is already everywhere. Beside being a relentless and powerful player in the mobile device industry that hurts both Google and Apple, Samsung already comprises around 80 companies that are highly diversified, with activities in areas including construction, consumer electronics, financial services, shipbuilding, and medical services.
In theory, Samsung's victories in mobile device industry are also Google's victories. As long as Samsung uses Android. However, Samsung is de-emphazising itself from Google in favor of its own, and is close to letting go many Google's products in favor of its own. But Google is not standing still. The company have matured and build great products at a quick rate. But Samsung's move with Tizen has marked a new beginning.
In current term of mobile, Google needs Samsung more than Samsung needs Google. Samsung is selling so many Android phones that Google could simply lose control. Samsung's control over the smartphone marketplace is so huge that even if the company is not intending to fork Android or use Tizen, Google still has no choice but to do Samsung's bidding.
Samsung has its own platforms, its own services, its own software. All of them are vertically integrated, reliant on no other company to make its products. These have given Samsung an advantage that most other smartphone vendors don't.
And when Samsung has taken full advantage of the open nature of Android and turned the robot on its master, it's just a matter of time that Samsung will completely have Android under its heel, and there's nothing Google can do about it. The first confrontation Samsung did was with its Tizen-powered smartwatches.
Google, as Android's parent company, doesn't want to see that without a fight. Google is pushing the original Android a big push, and even sold Motorola to Lenovo for $3 billion to create a better stronghold with its Android, and against Samsung. This is a relationship with power issues.
With Android in most Samsung fast selling smartphones, Google finds itself with a strange kind of success. Android is astonishingly popular, but that success is being driven largely by Samsung's devices. Despite the original vision for Android was more distributed, the market is concentrating more on Samsung. This effectively lessens Google's control over the market, forcing it to give Samsung the license to run wild.
After beating Nokia as undisputed top phone maker in 2012, the South Korean company grows increasingly fast. It managed to sell the equivalent of Google's yearly Android sale in just 3 months. Although Google gets a lot of money from Samsung, Google can't deny Samsung's access to the app and services that make Android great. The concerns over Samsung forking Android are overblown because Samsung can get everything it wants without pulling out of the Google ecosystem.
The danger here is that Google's ongoing Android development becomes an enterprise geared toward supporting Samsung. Samsung could contribute code to the Android Open Source Project that benefits its devices, and Google would feel pressure to accept the changes. Even HTC is having trouble even getting suppliers to take it seriously, resulting in delays for some products.
Whatever Samsung wants, Samsung gets, and there is little to nothing that Google can do to prevent it. And when Google and Apple struggle to fight its dominance, Samsung continues its venture in becoming the company behind people's lives.
Now to see other other part of the story, Apple that is a direct competitor to the other two, is feeling things rather differently. Apple may not be as big of a conglomerate as Samsung, but it's mobile products are already an icon among fans. Despite its frequently loss in the mobile war against Android and its frequent legal battle with Samsung, the company isn't that under pressure. This is because the Cupertino, California-based company ironically makes more money than others. The reason for this is because in reality, Apple's profit numbers are Apple, and more or less, none others.