Google's (GOOGL -1.97%) (GOOG -1.96%) ecosystem offers an impenetrable advantage that should allow the company to enjoy several more years of heady growth, Fool contributor Tim Beyers says in the following video.
Venture capitalist Fred Wilson captured the spirit of the idea best in a recent blog post:
The big gains from technology in the coming years will come from things like machine learning and collective intelligence ... I don't think any one company has a lock on all of the device level innovation and I worry that one company, Google, is developing a very large and sustainable advantage in machine learning and collective intelligence that will be hard for anyone to compete with.
Tim agrees, noting that Google is able to collect data so easily as a consequence of supplying an ecosystem of products and services that perform best as part of a greater whole. Think of Maps. Anyone can look up a location on a PC, pin it, and then open Maps on an iPhone and ask for directions to the pinned location. The single login design of Google+ ensures interoperability.
We've seen the benefits of its approach. Google improved its revenue from apps and other digital content by 48% year over year in the first quarter, to more than $1.5 billion. Given the reach and strength of its ecosystem, there's every reason to believe we'll see continued growth in this area in the quarters and years to come.
Now it's your turn to weigh in. What's your take on Google's advantages or lack thereof? Please watch the video to get the full story and then leave a comment to let us know your take, including whether you would buy, sell, or short Google stock at current prices.
