The speed at which new technology is being adopted is literally doubling with every wave. We at Google feel that the next wave of technology or mass technology will be one that touches one billion users in less than five years
Nitin Bawankule, Industry Director - E-Commerce, Retail, Online Classifieds, Technology, Education and Government - Google India, is one busy man. He is responsible for driving Google’s advertising business for his set of verticals, focusing on acquisition, retention and partnerships. Working closely with other players to grow the Indian online ecosystem, Nitin is working on initiatives like the Great Online Shopping Festival (GOSF) to make e-commerce accessible to millions. An alumni of IIM Bangalore and having worked with technology giants like Dell, Whirlpool and Godrej, Nitin is just the man for the job.
In an interview with Corporate Citizen, Nitin Bawankule talked at length about rapid digitisation and e-Commerce in India and shared Google’s perspective on several topics. He also touched upon his personal and professional life, Google’s partnership with the Government of India, and a whole lot more.
The impact of digitisation is so high that literally everything you do or you can think of doing can be done through one of the devices you will be wearing in the future.
You’ll be able to open the garage just by telling your watch to; you’ll be able to reheat your coffee or tea while you are driving back home. Most of these things will happen in the next few years. All the things are either in the market or in the Google labs being tested rapidly.
The longest time to touch the one billion user mark for land line telephone was 110 years. The same mark, took 49 years for the television; 22 years for mobile phones; 14 years for internet; eight years for smart phones. The speed at which new technology is being adopted is literally doubling with every wave. We at Google feel that the next wave of technology or mass technology will be one that touches one billion users in less than five years.
One billion internet users were touched by 2008, i.e. over a period of 18 years, from 1990- 2008, post that it has tripled in the last seven years. By 2020 it will be close to five billion. This is driven by China and India. One billion of the three billion comes from China and India.
Only about 100 million people in India access internet from both a PC and a smart phone. There are only 50 million personal computers. (Which include both desktops and laptops) in India and the number isn’t growing. Sixty five percent of internet users access internet through smart phone in India. Sixty percent of Google queries this year are from mobile devices, compared to 30 percent, just three years ago. Our estimate is that 90 percent of the search queries on Google, in India, will be through mobile devices.
On a personal computer, one would access internet i.e. ‘go online’ for about an hour or two, in a day but with the smartphones, people are online 24 hours.
After graduating as electronics engineers from VNIT, Nagpur most of my colleagues took up engineering jobs in and around Nagpur, but I was clear, right at the start, that I didn’t want to settle with just that... Of course, not taking up an engineering job was the first amongst a lot of turning points in my life, after which, I completed PGDM, Marketing and Finance, at IIM, Bangalore and took my first job in Godrej GE Appliances, as Area Manager.
It is a part of how the industry works and a necessary evil. However, I don’t think one should switch just for a higher package. I was comfortably settled in my first job, the reason that I switched was just that, ‘I had settled down and stopped feeling challenged. My next job with Whirlpool India, was like being thrown into hot burning fire. Working with Motorola and Dell, I was at a stage where, I had been there, done almost everything there was to do in the hardware- IT industry and then Google happened. The digital industry was a new challenge and I jumped the boat. I have only switched jobs to stretch my capabilities to the next notch.
There are pros and cons to everything, every person has to analyse the benefits and short comings for his or her own self and decide whether to use it or not. If someone is going to take selfies when they’re out vacationing, and share them on Facebook broadcasting to the world that they are not home; it’s no wonder their homes get robbed while they’re out having fun.
Our only media content vertical is YouTube and we have created a special app for kids ‘YouTube Kids’ that provides relevant data exclusively for kids. We also do try to keep track of and ban a lot of such chat and game apps but we can never control all of them.
The target is to install high-speed Wi-Fi access points at 400 railway stations in India, which will provide free internet access to nearly one billion Indians, who have no access. We plan to get the project functional in 100 railway stations by the end of 2016. We are not ready for Google Cables yet in India, it’s not cost effective enough. However, India has an optic fiber network that lies along the railway lines, which we will be using.
It could very well be the most effective way to take internet to the interiors and the far flung rural populations in India. We are doing some pilot projects in countries like New Zealand, Brazil, etc… and let’s see how that unfolds.
Of course, we are also working with the PMs Office to get the PMO’s office app designed.
One has to be mentally ready for it, if one wants to survive in the industry, today. That has to be your frame of mind. I do reach the office at 8:00am every day, while the rest of them may arrive by 10:30am. This is the time where I plan and get ready for the day’s work.
My family is very supportive, I have two daughters. The evenings are family time. My phone is switched off between 6:30pm and 10:00pm, no official work then.
If someone is going to take selfies when they’re out vacationing, and share them on Facebook, broadcasting to the world that they are not home; it’s no wonder their homes get robbed while they’re out having fun
I like reading books and listening to music. I do read virtual books but I prefer the physical ones, the fragrance of a new book is refreshing. Long walks and jogging every evening, whenever I’m home is my ‘stay fit and rejuvenated’ mantra.
BY PRANAV ALAT
