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Big tech companies are the defining force of the 21st century. They are the companies that have changed the way we live and work, and their impact is only getting bigger. But who are the big tech companies? Here’s a look at the most important players in the tech world
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Google LLC is an American multinational technology company that specializes in Internet-related services and products, which include online advertising technologies, search engine, cloud computing, software, and hardware.
History
Google was founded in September 1998 by Larry Page and Sergey Brin while they were Ph.D. students at Stanford University in California. Together, they own about 14 percent of its shares and control 56 percent of the stockholder voting power through supervoting stock. They incorporated Google as a privately held company on September 4, 1998. An initial public offering (IPO) took place on August 19, 2004, and Google moved to its headquarters in Mountain View, California, nicknamed the Googleplex. In March 1999, the company moved its offices to Palo Alto, home to several other noted Silicon Valley technology startups. The next year, Google began selling advertisements associated with search keywords.[15] The ads were text-based to maintain an uncluttered page design and to maximize page loading speed. Keywords were Sold at a auction where advertisers bid on keyword phrases relevant to their target market.
Products and services
Search: Google’s main business is search engine advertising. The company offers a variety of tools and products related to search, including the Google Search Engine, Google AdWords, and Google AdSense.
Android: Android is a mobile operating system developed by Google. It is used by a number of manufacturers for devices such as smartphones, tablets, and wearables.
Chrome: Chrome is a web browser developed by Google. It offers features such as syncing with your Google account, browsing history, and password management.
YouTube: YouTube is a video sharing platform owned by Google. You can upload, view, and share videos on YouTube.
Revenues
Alphabet, Google’s parent company, had $136 billion in revenues in 2019. This made it the fourth largest company in the united states by revenue.
When it comes to the battle of the tech companies, there are a few that stand out above the rest. Companies like Apple, Amazon, Facebook, and Google control a large portion of the market share when it comes to consumer spending. In 2018, these four companies accounted for more than half of all global consumer spending on information technology.
Apple and Amazon are two of the most valuable companies in the world with a combined market value of more than $2 trillion. Together, these two companies control nearly 50% of the e-commerce market. They are also two of the largest providers of cloud services with Amazon’s AWS and Apple’s iCloud.
Facebook is the largest social media platform with more than 2 billion monthly active users. The company also owns Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger which gives them a reach of more than 3 billion people around the globe. Facebook’s ad business is also booming with $39.9 billion in ad revenue in 2018.
Google is the undisputed king when it comes to search with more than 90% of the global market share. The company also owns YouTube which is the second largest search engine behind Google. Google’s ad business is also massive with $32.6 billion in ad revenue in 2018.
Amazon
Amazon, an American electronic commerce and cloud computing company, is the world’s largest online marketplace and largest cloud computing platform. Amazon is the largest Internet company by revenue in the world. It is the second largest private employer in the United States and one of the world’s most valuable companies.
History
Amazon was founded in 1994 by Jeff Bezos, who is now the world’s richest man. The company started as an online bookstore but soon diversified into selling a wide range of items, including electronics, furniture, and clothing. In 2006, Amazon launched its own digital book reader, the Kindle, which was followed by the development of the Kindle Fire tablet in 2011. In 2015, Amazon introduced the Echo, a voice-controlled assistant that can be used to play music, control smart home devices, and much more. Amazon is now one of the world’s biggest and most powerful companies.
Products and services
Amazon is a multinational technology company that specializes in e-commerce, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence. Founded in 1994 by Jeff Bezos, Amazon is now the world’s largest online retailer, with major subsidiaries including Whole Foods Market and Audible. Some of Amazon’s most popular products and services include the Kindle, Fire TV Stick, Echo Dot, and Prime membership.
Revenues
Amazon is expected to generate $280.5 billion in revenue in 2020, up from $233.7 billion in 2019. This would give Amazon a market cap of around $1.6 trillion.
In 2018, Amazon’s market share was 53.3 percent of the US e-commerce market, according to eMarketer. That was an increase from 48 percent in 2017. Amazon is expected to grow to 58.8 percent of the US e-commerce market by 2019.
Amazon’s growth has been nothing short of phenomenal. In 2010, its market share was 4 percent. In just eight years, it has increased its market share by more than 50 percentage points.
Amazon is not just the leader in e-commerce; it is also the leader in cloud computing and artificial intelligence. In 2018, Amazon had a 38 percent share of the global cloud computing market, according to Synergy Research Group. That was more than twice the market share of its nearest competitor, Microsoft.
Apple
Apple, Inc. is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, that designs, develops, and sells consumer electronics, computer software, and online services. The company’s hardware products include the iPhone smartphone, the iPad tablet computer, the Mac personal computer, the iPod portable media player, the Apple Watch smartwatch, the Apple TV digital media player, and the HomePod smart speaker. Apple’s software includes the macOS and iOS operating systems, the iTunes media player, the Safari web browser, and the iLife and iWork creativity and productivity suites, as well as professional applications like Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro, and Xcode. Its online services include the iTunes Store, the iOS App Store, and Mac App Store, Apple Music, and iCloud.
History
Apple was founded in 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne. The company began as a maker of personal computers, but its scope soon expanded to consumer electronics and software. In the early 1980s, Apple popularized the graphical user interface with its Macintosh line of computers. The company went public in 1980 and experienced rapid growth in the following years.
In the 1990s, Jobs returned to Apple after a period of working at Pixar Animation Studios. Under his leadership, Apple introduced a number of groundbreaking products, including the iMac, iTunes and the iPod. In 2001, Apple launched the first Macintosh computer with an Intel processor. In 2007, Apple released the first iPhone and followed it up with the iPad in 2010.
In 2011, Jobs passed away but his legacy continues at Apple under the stewardship of CEO Tim Cook. Under Cook’s leadership, Apple has continued to release innovative products such as the Apple Watch and AirPods. The company has also expanded its services offerings with iCloud, Apple Music and more.
Products and services
Apple is a technology company that designs, develops, and sells consumer electronics, computer software, and online services. Its best-known hardware products include the iPhone smartphone, the iPad tablet computer, the Mac personal computer, the iPod portable media player, and the Apple Watch smartwatch. Apple’s consumer software includes the macOS and iOS operating systems, the iTunes media player, the Safari web browser, and the iLife and iWork creativity and productivity suites. Its online services include the iTunes Store, iCloud storage service, Apple Music streaming service, and App Store mobile app store.
Revenues
Apple is one of the big tech companies along with Amazon, Google, and Facebook. Its revenues for 2018 were 265.6 billion dollars.
Apple, Inc. is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, that designs, develops, and sells consumer electronics, computer software, and online services. The company’s hardware products include the iPhone smartphone, the iPad tablet computer, the Mac personal computer, the iPod portable media player, the Apple Watch smartwatch, the Apple TV digital media player, and the HomePod smart speaker. Apple’s software includes the macOS and iOS operating systems, the iTunes media player, the Safari web browser, and the iWork productivity suite. Its online services include the iTunes Store, the iOS App Store and Mac App Store, Apple Music, and iCloud.
In 2018, Fortune magazine named Apple the world’s most admired company—an honor it had previously received in 2010—citing visionary leadership by CEO Tim Cook as well as its strong brands built on a history of technology innovation.
Facebook is a social networking service that was created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg. Facebook allows users to connect with friends and family, share photos and videos, and join groups. Facebook also has a built-in messaging system.
History
Facebook is a social networking service launched as The Facebook in February 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg, Eduardo Saverin, Dustin Moskovitz, and Chris Hughes, all students at Harvard University. It was a simple “directory” of Harvard students that allowed users to search for people by name, year, and House. Within a few weeks of its launch, The Facebook expanded to include other Ivy League schools, Stanford University, and Dartmouth College. In June 2004, Facebook expanded to allow any email address with an .edu address to sign up for an account.
In September 2005, Facebook was open to anyone with a valid email address. That same month, the first high school network was created. A few months later, in February 2006, News Feed was launched. News Feed gave users updates on their friends’ activities on the site.
In September 2006, Facebook announced that it had reached one million active users. A few months later, in December 2006, Facebook introduced the Mini-Feed, which gave users constant updates on their friends’ activities on the site.
In May 2007, Facebook Launched Zuckerberg’s Law which stated that “the amount of information constantly shared on Facebook is growing exponentially.” This was followed by the introduction of theFacebook Platform in May 2007 which allowed developers to create applications that could be used within Facebook.
Products and services
Facebook is a social networking service that allows its users to connect with friends and family as well as make new connections. The site was founded by Mark Zuckerberg in 2004 and has since become one of the most popular social networking sites on the internet. Facebook allows its users to share photos, videos, and updates about their lives, and also provides a platform for businesses and organizations to promote their products and services.
Revenues
In 2018, Facebook generated $55.8 billion in revenue, up 33% from the previous year. The vast majority of this revenue came from advertising, which made up 98.5% of total revenue. The remainder came from other sources, such as fees for Facebook’s Payments business and sales of Oculus virtual reality headsets.
In 2018, Facebook held a market share of 52.21 percent of the social networking site visits in the United States. This was an increase from 51.89 percent in 2017 and 50.71 percent in 2016. In terms of monthly active users, Facebook had 2.23 billion MAUs as of the fourth quarter of 2018, an increase from 2.06 billion MAUs in the fourth quarter of 2017. Facebook’s total revenue for 2018 was $55.841 billion, an increase from $40.653 billion in 2017.
Microsoft
Microsoft is a multinational corporation that develops, manufactures, licenses, supports, and sells a range of software products and services. Microsoft was founded by Bill Gates and Paul Allen in 1975. Microsoft is the world’s largest software company by revenue.
History
Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology company with headquarters in Redmond, Washington. It develops, manufactures, licenses, supports, and sells computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services. Its best known software products are the Microsoft Windows line of operating systems, the Microsoft Office suite, and the Internet Explorer and Edge web browsers. Its flagship hardware products are the Xbox video game consoles and the Microsoft Surface tablet lineup. As of 2016, it is the world’s largest software maker by revenue, and one of the world’s most valuable companies.
The company was founded by Bill Gates and Paul Allen on April 4, 1975, to develop and sell BASIC interpreters for Altair 8800. It rose to dominate the personal computer operating system market with MS-DOS in the mid-1980s, followed by Microsoft Windows. The company’s 1986 initial public offering (IPO), and subsequent rise in its share price created three billionaires and an estimated 12000 millionaires from Microsoft employees. Since the 1990s’, Microsoft has increasingly diversified from the operating system market and has made a number of corporate acquisitions. In May 2011, Microsoft acquired Skype Technologies for $8.5 billion in its largest acquisition to date.
Products and services
Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology company with headquarters in Redmond, Washington. It develops, manufactures, licenses, supports, and sells computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and services. Its best known software products are the Microsoft Windows line of operating systems, the Microsoft Office suite, and the Internet Explorer and Edge web browsers. Its flagship hardware products are the Xbox video game consoles and the Microsoft Surface line of tablets, laptops, and desktop computers. The company also produces a wide range of other software for desktops and servers, and is active in areas including Internet search (with Bing), the video game industry (with the Xbox 360 platform), mixed reality (HoloLens), cloud computing (Azure), artificial intelligence (Azure Bot Service), enterprise software (through Microsoft 365), and personal computing (Surface Laptop).
In 2016, Microsoft was ranked as the world’s second-most valuable brand after Apple Inc., with an estimated brand value of $62.4 billion.Microsoft has several subsidiaries, with Bing as its search engineDynamics containerized datacenter Azure Active Directory Windows CE operating system Windows Phone operating system Skype Lync beta products Linkedln Xamarin TestFlight App Center Outlook.com Mixer power BI Docs.com Sway Office Delve Yammer PowerApps Forms Flow machine learning Studio Security Enterprise mobility suite store for business store for developers Results from Windows Phone 8 devices placed under water
Revenues
Microsoft is an American multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, that develops, manufactures, licenses, supports and sells computer software, consumer electronics and personal computers and services. Its best known software products are the Microsoft Windows line of operating systems, the Microsoft Office suite of productivity software, Xbox gaming consoles and the Internet Explorer and Edge web browsers. Its flagship hardware products are the Xbox game consoles and the Microsoft Surface tablet lineup. As of 2016, it was the world’s largest software maker by revenue, and one of the world’s most valuable companies.
In 2015 Microsoft was ranked as number 30 in Fortune magazine’s “Fortune 500” companies list. In 2014 it was ranked as number 37 in PwC’s “Global Top 100 Companies” list. The company has been a component of the dow jones industrial average since March 15, 1986. Nine CEOs have headed Microsoft: Bill Gates (1975–2000), Steve Ballmer (2000–14), Satya Nadella (since 2014).
Microsoft is an American multinational technology company with headquarters in Redmond, Washington. It develops, manufactures, licenses, supports and sells computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services. Its best known software products are the Microsoft Windows line of operating systems, the Microsoft Office suite, and the Internet Explorer and Edge web browsers. Its flagship hardware products are the Xbox game consoles and the Microsoft Surface tablet lineup. As of 2016, it is the world’s largest software maker by revenue, and one of the world’s most valuable companies.
Microsoft was founded by Paul Allen and Bill Gates on April 4, 1975, to develop and sell BASIC interpreters for the Altair 8800. It rose to dominate the personal computer operating system market with MS-DOS in the mid-1980s, followed by Microsoft Windows. The company’s 1986 initial public offering (IPO), and subsequent rise in its share price, created three billionaires and an estimated 12,000 millionaires among Microsoft employees. Since the 1990s, it has increasingly diversified fromthe operating system market and has made a number of corporate acquisitions. In May 2011, Microsoft acquired Skype Technologies for $8.5 billion in its largest acquisition to date.
As of 2015 Microsoft is market dominant in both the PC operating system (with over 90% market share)and office suite markets (with over 80% market share).
