Why is Chennai-born Google CEO visiting India? Here is what you need to know
- Google CEO Sundar Pichai is in India on a holiday.
- Looks like, it isn't just a holiday as he would be present at an event on January 4.
FollowChennai-born Google CEO Sundar Pichai is in India on a holiday, but is expected to host an event on January 4. The invite sent out to some media agencies hint the focus of the event will be on small and midsize businesses (SMBs), but may not necessarily be limited to that. Here are three announcements that we could probably expect from the Google chief.
Enterprise market
The company’s focus clearly seems to be the enterprise market. In the recent times, we’ve seen the company rebrand its enterprise services like Google Cloud and G Suite. Recently, the company had launched App Maker that claims to enable quick development of basic apps that could be used for specific purpose in an organisation. The announcements would mean dishing out the value that these services offer, and probably even more, to enterprises in India. Google, unlike Microsoft, hasn’t taken the Indian enterprise market very seriously yet. And, this event could change that.
Startups
The event could also see announcements related to the Google Launchpad. Those not in the know, it is an accelerator program to help tech startups in the emerging market. Last month, Google announced seven mid- to late-stage startups from India to be a part of the third edition of Launchpad Accelerator. They become a part of six month mentoring program that includes a two week all-expenses paid bootcamp starting on 30 January next year at Launchpad Space in San Francisco. And, each startup will also receive $50,000 of equity-free funding. With this in the background, the company may make announcements for the startup space in India. Pichai has been quite vocal about launching programs that will skill 2 million mobile developers on its platform. We can expect a announcement related to its partnership with National Skill Development Corporation of India. Needless to say, its arch-rivals Apple and Microsoft have also been showing keen interest in the startup community in India.
Free Wi-Fi
All through the year, Google has been actively working with Railtel to deploy free Wi-Fi at railway stations. In fact, just recently it announced the 100 station that happens to be none other than Ooty. Google is committed to bring the service to 400 stations. The company has also introduced Google Station (an easy set of tools) that can be used by partners to deploy Wi-Fi hotspots in public places. We can expect an announcement related to the extension of the services, or probably taking the digital wave to rural areas.
Besides, some reports have also been hinting at consumer technology announcements for India at the event. He is also expected to address students at his alma mater IIT Kharagpur on January 5.
