MAM
Google taking steps to boost advertisement revenue from mobile phones
NEW DELHI: In an attempt to boost its online advertisement revenue, Google will enable faster online search capability for mobile phones with slower network connections in India.
Indians, according to a Google blog post, are accessing the Internet through mobile devices such as their smartphones. However, not all of these devices come with fast, cheap Internet connections.
Google said this is just another step the online search engine is taking to organise the world’s information and make it accessible to everyone, including those who do not have fast mobile connections.
Google second quarter revenue increased 22 per cent to $15.96 billion.
The average cost-per-click, which includes clicks related to ads served on Google sites and the sites of network members, decreased 6 per cent. Cost-per-click for Google sites decreased 7 per cent. Network cost-per-click decreased 13 per cent.
However, sites revenues rose 23 per cent to $10.94 billion, while network revenues increased 7 per cent. Aggregate paid clicks increased approximately 25 per cent.
ITU in a report released in September has ranked India at 125 for fixed broadband, 113 for mobile Internet, 75 for household Internet penetration and 142 for Internet user penetration in 2013.
Google, which recently launched Android One operating system for emerging telecom markets, said it is adding a new streamlined version of search results page in India.
Google will automatically check to see if a user has a slow wireless connection and deliver a fast loading version of search.
Bharat Mediratta, software engineer of Google, in a blog post on 3 October, said: “The Internet is a global gathering space of infinite opportunity, where people from around the world can exchange ideas and access humanity’s knowledge. Everyone should have equal access to the Internet’s information to improve their everyday lives, regardless of who they are or where they live.”
“Fewer bytes means you get your answer faster and cheaper. Google’s results will remain the same, but elements such as images and maps will only show up when they are an essential part of the result,” Mediratta added.
ITU says mobile broadband subscriptions will reach 2.3 billion globally in 2014 with 55 per cent in developing world.
Global mobile broadband penetration will reach 32 per cent in 2014 with 84 per cent penetration in developed countries and 21 per cent in developing countries.
ITU says 44 per cent of the world’s households will have Internet access by end 2014. 31 per cent households in developing countries will be connected to the Internet against 78 per cent in developed countries. ITU does not share India specific Internet access details.
Brands
Google completes $32 billion Wiz deal to boost AI and cloud security
Wiz joins Google Cloud but keeps multi-cloud support across rival platforms
NEW YORK: Google has completed its $32 billion acquisition of cloud security company Wiz, marking the biggest deal in the tech giant’s history and signalling a major push to strengthen security in the era of artificial intelligence and multi-cloud computing.
The New York-headquartered cybersecurity firm will join Google Cloud while continuing to operate under the Wiz brand. Crucially, the company will maintain support for multiple cloud platforms, including Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure and Oracle Cloud, reflecting the reality that most large organisations run their systems across several cloud providers.
Google said the acquisition is designed to help organisations build and scale applications more securely as businesses and governments increasingly move critical systems and data to the cloud. At the same time, the rapid adoption of generative AI has introduced new cybersecurity risks, with attackers also using AI to launch faster and more sophisticated attacks.
Wiz has built a reputation for simplifying cloud security. Its platform maps entire cloud environments, identifying vulnerabilities, potential attack paths and misconfigurations before they can be exploited. By connecting insights from code, cloud infrastructure and runtime environments, it allows security and engineering teams to detect and fix risks early in the development cycle.
Bringing Wiz into Google Cloud will create what the company describes as a unified security platform capable of detecting, preventing and responding to threats across cloud and AI environments. The combined offering will also integrate Google’s own security capabilities, including threat intelligence tools, security operations platforms and the cybersecurity expertise of Mandiant.
Google CEO Sundar Pichai said the move reflects the growing importance of security as more organisations rely on AI and cloud technologies. “Keeping people safe online has always been part of Google’s mission,” he said, adding that the partnership will help organisations innovate with greater confidence.
Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian, said the goal is to make security an enabler rather than a roadblock for businesses building modern applications. He noted that the combined technologies will simplify the complex task of protecting hybrid and multi-cloud environments.
For Wiz, the acquisition opens the door to global scale while keeping its core philosophy intact. Co-founder and CEO Assaf Rappaport said the company remains committed to an open, multi-cloud approach and will continue supporting customers regardless of where their workloads run.
Over the past year, Wiz has expanded its platform to address emerging risks tied to AI applications, including tools that help organisations monitor AI usage, detect AI-specific vulnerabilities and secure AI workloads during runtime.
With Google’s infrastructure, artificial intelligence capabilities and security ecosystem now behind it, Wiz plans to accelerate development of its platform while continuing to serve enterprises, governments and start-ups operating across different cloud environments.
For Google Cloud, the acquisition adds a powerful piece to its security puzzle as competition intensifies among global cloud providers. For customers, it promises a future where building fast in the cloud does not have to come at the expense of staying secure.
