Google Named Top-Tier Software Vendor by APPS RUN THE WORLD in the APPS TOP 500 Market Report

Google Strengths, Domain Expertise, and Key Differentiators

In 2024-2025, Google continued to strengthen its position in the tech industry through various strategic innovations and product improvements. A key differentiator for Google is its strong domain expertise in AI, with the company’s advancements in natural language processing (NLP) and machine learning at the forefront of their product portfolio. The launch of new tools in Google Cloud and the integration of generative AI into everyday applications, such as Google Workspace, enabled users to benefit from automated content generation, data insights, and personalized recommendations. Additionally, Google's large-scale investments in AI infrastructure and custom chips, such as the Tensor Processing Units (TPUs), are seen as major assets, driving both performance and efficiency for AI workloads across its cloud and services.

Another strength lies in Google’s ability to leverage its ecosystem, which includes a diverse array of consumer-facing products such as Google Search, Android, and YouTube, as well as its enterprise offerings through Google Cloud and G Suite. This broad portfolio allows Google to provide a seamless experience across both individual and business applications, consolidating its dominance in search, advertising, and cloud computing. Moreover, Google’s approach to AI ethics and responsible innovation, seen through its AI Principles, further solidifies its position as a leader in AI deployment and governance. By focusing on both the scalability of its technology and its alignment with societal values, Google differentiates itself as a responsible tech giant capable of navigating both regulatory and ethical challenges in the global AI landscape.

Google Recent Developments

In 2024–25 Google pushed forward on many fronts. The company rolled out new AI models (Gemini 2.0 Flash and related prototypes) and began embedding them into products – for example, Google Search’s AI Overviews feature now uses Gemini technology. Google also reorganized its AI teams, moving the Gemini app team under DeepMind to accelerate the development of its large language models.

On the cloud side, Google Cloud announced major infrastructure upgrades: Cloud TPU v5p became generally available and new NVIDIA GPU instances were launched. At Google Cloud Next 2024 it previewed its sixth‑generation TPU codenamed Trillium, announced upcoming A3 Ultra VMs with NVIDIA’s new H200 GPUs, and introduced custom Axion CPUs in C4A VMs. The company is also integrating NVIDIA’s latest “Blackwell” GPUs into its AI “Hypercomputer” platform. These hardware advances are complemented by software improvements, JetStream inference engine, JAX/XLA, storage caching, and Hyperdisk ML” for AI data, etc., to boost training and inference throughput.

Meanwhile, Google’s Project Starline, the magic window 3D video‑chat system, is moving toward commercialization via an HP partnership.

In productivity, Google has deeply integrated AI across Workspace. As of 2025, its Business and Enterprise plans include Gemini AI and NotebookLM by default, providing generative assistance in Gmail, Docs, Sheets, Meet, Chat and new tools like Google Vids. For example, Gemini can draft and summarize content or take meeting notes automatically in Meet. Google emphasizes enterprise readiness so that companies can deploy these AI features safely.

The company has also expanded strategic partnerships in the enterprise space: for instance, in 2025 KPMG joined Google Cloud’s Security Partner Program to help build AI‑powered cybersecurity and SecOps solutions for large organizations.

Finally, Google continued investing in sustainability. Its 2024 Environmental Report shows about 64% of Google’s electricity use is now carbon‑free (wind/solar) across offices and data centers, reflecting progress toward its 24/7 carbon‑free goal by 2030. The report highlights Google’s support for carbon‑removal partnerships and clean energy projects, extensive water‑stewardship efforts, and a circular‑economy approach with up to 78% waste diversion at data centers and 40% of server hardware reused.

Google Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) Activities

Google’s largest deals in 2024–2025 all aligned with its cloud, AI, and hardware strategy. In March 2025, Alphabet, Google’s parent, agreed to acquire cloud‑security startup Wiz for about $32 billion. That all‑cash transaction – Alphabet’s biggest ever – is explicitly aimed at bolstering Google Cloud’s security suite and helping it catch up with AWS and Azure.

In parallel, Google moved aggressively in AR/VR hardware: in January 2025, it agreed to pay $250 million for part of HTC’s Vive XR team, transferring Vive engineering staff and IP licenses to Google. Google said the HTC deal would accelerate development of its new Android XR platform, for headsets and smart glasses. At the same time Google pursued eye‑tracking hardware, agreeing to acquire Canadian startup AdHawk Microsystems for roughly $115 million including earn‑outs to integrate advanced gaze‑tracking into future smart‑glasses. These acquisitions (HTC/AdHawk) underline Google’s renewed push into AR/VR hardware and Android‑XR devices.

In addition to those headline transactions, Google made several smaller, targeted acquisitions. For example, in June 2024 Google acquired Cameyo, a virtualization firm that lets Windows apps run on ChromeOS. The Cameyo buy is intended to make Chromebooks more enterprise‑friendly by giving ChromeOS users greater access to Windows apps and thus helping businesses modernize their IT infrastructure while preserving their investments in existing software.

Other small deals over this period were typically in AI, cloud services, or developer tools, though most were not widely publicized. In general, Google’s M&A in 2024–25 focused on shoring up Google Cloud and device ecosystems: big security/cloud purchases, like Wiz, and hardware/platform purchases (HTC, AdHawk, Cameyo) rather than consumer Internet or advertising businesses.

These deals reflect clear strategic trends. Google is emphasizing AI‑enabled cloud and security capabilities and expanding its hardware platforms. The company has been less active on the traditional adtech front.

Google Customers in ARTW Customer Database

Leveraging a rigorous data-centric research methodology, APPS RUN THE WORLD asks the simple question: Who’s buying Google applications and why? And we provide the answers – supported by decades of research – to our clients around the world. Our Customer database has over 100 data fields that detail company usage of Google and other enterprise apps by function, customer size, industry, location, implementation status, partner involvement, Line of Business Key Stakeholders and IT decision makers contact details. List of Verified Google Workspace, customers.

Google Key Enterprise and Cloud Applications

Google Workspace,

Google Revenues, $M:

Google Revenue Breakdown By Type, $M:

Google Enterprise Applications Revenues By Functional Markets, $M:

Google Enterprise Applications Revenues By Verticals, $M:

Google Revenues By Region, $M

Google Direct vs Indirect sales

Google Customers - Breakdown by Geo, Size, Vertical and Product

List of Verified Google Customers

No. of Google Customers: 9 million paying Workspace Customers

No. of Google Enterprise Applications Customers: 9 million paying Workspace Customers

No. of Google Cloud Customers: 9 million paying Workspace Customers

No. of Google Cloud Subscribers: 3 billion Workspace Users

Google’s cloud and productivity businesses showed broad growth in 2024–25. Google Cloud revenue grew ~30% YoY, to ~$12.0B in Q4 as demand for AI infrastructure surged. First‑time cloud commitments more than doubled in 2024 vs. 2023, with multiple new deals exceeding $1B. Google's Vertex AI platform saw about 5× more customers.

Google highlighted large enterprise wins, e.g., Mercedes‑Benz, Mercado Libre, Servier, and news reports note even AI labs like OpenAI, along with Apple and others, are adding Google’s cloud/TPU.

Google Workspace crossed roughly 11.0 million paying organizations, driven by new AI features. Workspace business users now receive ~2 billion AI-generated assists per month.

ChromeOS continued expanding in education – Chromebooks remain the #1 device in global K–12 schools with new affordable models for Asia/Latin America.

On the ads side, Search and YouTube advertising again grew double-digits, helped by strong holiday retail spending and new AI shopping features. Black Friday/Cyber Monday each drove ~$1 B in ad revenue.

Google noted particularly strong U.S. election and retail ad spending in late 2024, and also highlighted that APAC-based retailers lifted Q4 ad revenues. Education and public sector remain key areas, Google is rolling out education-grade Chromebooks in Asia/Latin America and has a dedicated Public Sector cloud sales organization.

Overall, Google’s platform customer base is expanding globally across segments – from midmarket businesses and schools to large enterprises and governments – with sustained double‑digit growth in each region as new capacity comes online.

Google Market Opportunities, M&A and Geo Expansions

Google’s latest earnings calls and blogs stress that demand is surging for its AI‑powered cloud and productivity services. Google Cloud grew ~30–35% YoY in 2024 from $11.4B in Q3 as enterprises adopt its AI/ML infrastructure. The company highlights an in‑house AI Hypercomputer delivering high performance for large AI workloads. In practice, customers report using it for compute-intensive tasks (e.g. Citadel for market modeling, Wayfair for platform scaling).

Google also reported explosive growth in its developer ecosystem: Vertex AI saw about a fivefold increase in customers and a ~20× jump in usage over 2024, with clients using hundreds of foundation models like Gemini Flash, Imagen 3, Veo.

Similarly, Google Workspace is being upgraded with AI: organizations like Uber and Pepperdine University are deploying Gemini‑powered assistants inside Gmail, Docs and Sheets, and new AI tools, such as Google Vids and intelligent meeting agents, have been announced.

Google has invested these gains into security and analytics: for example, its AI‑driven Threat Intelligence and Security Operations tools, now used by clients including Vodafone and AstraZeneca identify and mitigate cyberthreats.

In advertising and Search, Google has rolled out advanced AI features – e.g. Imagen 3 text‑to‑image for ad creatives and an AI‑powered marketing-mix model, Meridian – that reportedly boosts campaign performance. Audi saw +80% site visits on an AI‑generated ad campaign. Its search engine now offers AI Overviews (in 100+ countries) and Circle to Search on Android, which Google says improves user engagement.

All told, Alphabet underscores a full-stack AI strategy – from data centers through apps – and is investing heavily (≈$75B CapEx planned in 2025) to capture these cross-industry opportunities.

Google is also tailoring its products to key industries and markets. In healthcare, Google Cloud launched specialized AI solutions, Vertex AI Search for Healthcare, MedLM models, and an international Healthcare Data Engine to help clinicians extract insights from patient records. Leading health systems (HCA, Telus Health, etc.) are piloting these tools.

Financial-services firms are similarly adopting Google AI: for instance, Discover Financial is using Google’s generative-AI call‑center tools to improve customer service, while quantitative traders like Citadel leverage Google’s cloud HPC for modeling.

Retail and manufacturing companies report modernizing on Google Cloud’s AI/analytics platforms, and global brands like Mercedes‑Benz have signed major cloud deals under Google’s AI-driven strategy.

In education and the public sector, Google points to strong Chromebook/Workspace uptake: it introduced new education‑focused hardware (e.g. Galaxy Chromebook Plus with AI tools) and Workspace features (Gemini assistants for lesson planning).

To reach underserved regions, Google expanded its infrastructure: it opened its first African cloud region in Johannesburg in January 2024 and broke ground on 11 new global regions (U.S., Asia, EU, etc.) plus several new subsea cables.

In addition, Google highlights growth in media, YouTube’s streaming and podcasts, and mobility, Waymo expanding to new cities including Austin, Atlanta, Miami and its first international deployment in Tokyo, as new frontiers.

Google Risks and Challenges

Google faced internal hurdles aligning its AI development across divisions like Google Cloud, DeepMind, Search, and Ads. To streamline operations amid economic headwinds and regulatory uncertainty, the company offered voluntary buyouts and implemented layoffs, signaling deeper cost control initiatives. While this may reduce expenses, it also raises concerns about its ability to sustain long-term innovation and maintain engineering momentum.

Security Vulnerabilities: Google’s software infrastructure remains a prime target, especially its Chrome browser. Cloud-based zero-day exploits further underscore risks to both consumer-facing and enterprise platforms. Such incidents heighten the risk of reputational damage, compliance penalties, and trust erosion, compelling Google to invest more in proactive detection and rapid patch deployment.

Google is grappling with mounting legal pressure from U.S. and EU authorities. In the U.S., courts have determined that its search and advertising platforms constitute illegal monopolies, prompting proposed remedies that include divesting Chrome, Android, and ad-tech assets. Meanwhile, the EU continues investigations under the Digital Markets Act targeting alleged anti‑competitive behavior across search, mobile, and ads platforms. These proceedings threaten Google’s control over core platforms and revenue streams, complicating both product innovation and AI development.

Intensifying competition from AI-centric rivals like OpenAI, Microsoft, and Meta places pressure on Google to accelerate speed-to-market with its Gemini platform and maintain AI leadership. Moreover, reforms affecting its search and ad infrastructure could undermine traditional monetization strategies. Google must now balance rapid AI innovation with evolving business models, ensuring profitability while adapting to new regulatory frameworks.

Google Ecosystem, Partners, Resellers and SI

Google’s go-to-market is shifting toward a partner-led model. In 2024–25 Google Cloud introduced new partner programs and marketplace incentives to boost indirect sales. For example, a revamped Marketplace now offers higher partner revenue shares and customer credit incentives, and channel private‐offer commits count fully against customer spend. Google reports third‐party Marketplace sales grew ~170% year-over-year, and explicitly allows partners to own the customer relationship on these deals. At the same time, Google’s own sales teams have been retrained to co-sell with partners: new registries let field reps log partner workshops/POCs and jointly pursue opportunities. Google now styles itself a partner-first organization, creating specializations and extensive training for SIs/MSPs/VARs.

Major integrators like Accenture, Deloitte, etc., have committed to training hundreds of thousands of experts on Google Cloud AI, and dozens of ISVs have validated Cloud Ready solutions (BigQuery, AlloyDB, Cloud SQL, etc.) in Google’s ecosystem. In practice, Google still maintains direct enterprise sales teams, but increasingly leverages co-selling and reseller motions, enhancing partner margins and enablement to scale AI/cloud adoption.

Technologically, Google is embedding AI and cloud features across its products and alliances. In Google Workspace, new Gemini-powered assistants and an agentic automation layer, Workspace Flows, let users orchestrate multi-step workflows and connect to third-party tools.

Additionally, a June 2024 Oracle–Google multi-cloud deal lets customers run Oracle databases in Google data centers, and in mid-2025, Google agreed to supply cloud compute to OpenAI, breaking OpenAI’s AWS/Microsoft exclusivity. Google also makes its AI stack pluggable for partners – Vertex AI’s Model Garden hosts dozens of partner models (Anthropic, Cohere, Mistral, etc.), and Google’s Gemini models are now accessible through platforms like SAP’s new Generative AI Hub and Salesforce apps.

In effect, Google’s ecosystem is leveraging network effects: validated partner solutions and joint offerings attract more customers, and trained SI/VAR channels multiply deployment. By combining these deep integrations and alliances, Google amplifies usage across its Cloud, Workspace, Ads, Chrome/OS, and AI platforms – turning its broad partner network into a force-multiplier for product adoption.

Research Methodology

Data used in research reports are derived from publicly available documents, continuous surveys of applications vendors, customers, resellers, Independent Software Vendors, systems integrators and other verifiable sources.

Vendor shares and market forecast results are based on a combination of existing databases as well as demand side and supply side research conducted throughout the year with validation from vendors, customers, channel partners and documentations such as earnings releases and 10Q and 10K filings, vertical industry studies, regional and country-level statistics from public and private institutions(i.e. colleges, universities, government agencies and trade associations).

For additional information on our methodologies, here's the link: