Before the smart home industry buzz began, Google was mainly known for being a search engine giant. Other than that, the other aspects that users would ever associate Google with were pay-per-click ads and, of course, Google+.
However, all this is not the case now. Ever since, through Google Ventures, the search engine giant now owns Nest. As we all know, Nest is a premier brand in the automation industry famous for manufacturing alarms and smart thermostats.
When Google announced that they were acquiring Nest, most people didn’t know what to think about all this. However, with time people have begun to see results in the $3.2 billion deal.
Nowadays, both Google and Nest have become one and are providing automation solutions to homeowners worldwide. While many companies out there that Google could have acquired back in 2014, it chose Nest.
For those who do not know enough about Nest, it would interest you to know that they have revolutionized how smart thermostats and smoke alarms work. Nest has a smart thermostat capable of learning you and your entire household’s schedules and routines.
This means that the smart thermostat can only adjust the temperature depending on your occupancy.
Also, Nest is responsible for getting rid of that screeching sound that most smoke alarms have been known for. Now Nest has a smoke alarm that you can control by waving your hand at it.
Here are more reasons as to why Google acquired Nest as its smart home brand;
Competition with Amazon
Before Google and Nest became one, Amazon was almost about to control the entire automation industry. When Amazon launched Alexa and the Echo speaker, it cemented its status as the biggest player in the smart home industry.
Google didn’t have much going on with new smart gadgets. The only thing that Google was getting right by that time was its smart speakers. Other than that, Amazon was the likely winner in the home automation sector.
After launching Alexa, everyone was talking about Amazon, and they still do up to now. This is because the Alexa technology was the most innovative the smart home industry had come by.
With all these going on at Amazon, Google needed to act fast if they were to remain competitive. For this reason, the executives at Google saw the need to bring everything under one roof. This would serve as the breakthrough that Google needed to better the ideas on the automation front.
Nest was the last piece that Google needed to dominate the automation industry, and the company took advantage of it. Due to their rivalry with Amazon, Google is willing to overturn a messy internal corporate structure into a working partnership.
Google knows to make this work; they need to ensure that Google Nest is a brand that resonates with consumers. They want to ensure that everything progresses well and they gain the customer’s trust. Google knows this is the only way Google Nest will thrive and become the go-to brand for homeowners.
Google’s Vision
Since the beginning, Google has been known to explore all options necessary to provide solutions to users. This is no exception with the smart home industry. For the longest, Google has treated smart home devices as pieces of a bigger smart home puzzle.
Google understands that most homeowners want devices that will work with other brands seamlessly without the need for third-party systems. Google wanted Nest on board because it saw the company as their best shot to actualize these ideas.
However, many users keep coming forward with complains about how most of the smart devices have flawed privacy protocols. One of the companies that have been met with such complaints is Nest.
Google wanted to acquire Nest because they felt that they had better privacy and security ideas for it. For example, Google executives proposed that every security camera should always have a light next to it if it’s recording.
This means that the new Nest cameras would lose the ability to turn off this light. Google also believes that most manufacturers are not doing enough to safeguard users’ private and personal data.
The company believes that all the parties involved should do a better job of ensuring that this data remains encrypted. If any third parties are to gain access to this data, they should be authorized by the users.
Conclusion
As much as most people had their reservations about this partnership, it has gone ahead to surpass all expectations. Google Nest has become a trusted brand by most consumers, and with everything lined up, its influence will grow bigger.