Not so long ago, it was believed that the biggest and most powerful information technology companies are located in the U.S., in the famous area of California known as Silicon Valley. However, the world map has started to change, and top 10 includes now companies coming from Europe or Asia. What is more, the new entries don’t show any sign to back off not even an inch.
Furthermore, Mary Meeker’s report on 2018 trends for tech companies show some interesting directions. Tech companies are in an era where they face the “privacy paradox.” On the one hand, they need to use data to provide better consumer experience, and on the other hand, they need to be aware of not violating the customer’s privacy. What is more, tech companies represent approximately 25% of the U.S. market capitalization.
Furthermore, big tech corporations compete on different fronts. Google is developing an online commerce platform, while Amazon is moving towards advertising. Finally, as artificial intelligence becomes more and more part of our lives, Google and Amazon will start to develop more AI service platforms to satisfy the demand. This article is going to show you which are some of the top biggest information technology in 2018 which have something to say on the market.
There’s no doubt that Apple deserves the first place in the tech market. What is more, it is also the eighth largest company in the world. It registered $247.5 billion of sales, with $53 billion in profit and $367.5 billion in assets. Steve Jobs remains Apple’s biggest asset, putting an important stone in the company’s structure. Apple business model is based on doing everything in-house when it comes to software and hardware.
Moreover, its famous product, the iPhone, keeps millions of followers loyal. Since it was launched, iPhone “killed” almost all his competitors. It is often said that once you buy an iPhone, you will never want to buy something else.
Amazon is definitely a survivor. This company managed to live up to the hype and escaped from the ‘90s internet bubble, becoming the famous company we all know today. It did not only consolidate their brand and position on the market, but they also thrived, reaching $100 billion revenue in 2015 and it was also thanks to Amazon business model. Now, everyone knows Amazon as the universal store where you can find anything you could wish for. Just think of one product, and you will find it on Amazon. The more significant thing about is that it didn’t stop here and continued to grow like the weed. Statistics say that it will exceed $230 billion in 2018.
If you say Alphabet, there might be people who haven’t heard about it. But when you say Google, then everyone will understand what you are talking about. Google is the most well-known and dominant search engine existing now on the market, going shoulder-to-shoulder with Facebook in the digital advertising market. Google business model is ready to make a shift and explore a different opportunity which is online commerce. Google Shopping promises to become the biggest e-commerce platform where you can buy everything you want. Google is also going after other markets with a lot of potentials like the mobile economy where they already established their position with Android OS and Google Pixel smartphone.
In the top of the tech giants, Microsoft has a well-established place. It has kept his position of one of the largest and best tech companies in the world for more than 20 years already. What is more, 2014 had also represented a turning point for the company as this is the year when CEO Satya Nadella became the “ship’s commander.” Since then, Microsoft business model experienced a revitalization, with Azure platform aiming to the clouds and even higher. But, Azure is not the only one which has grown on a rocket pace. Xbox remains the most popular system-based gaming. Bing also keeps a good share, while LinkedIn is also thriving. Cloud-based Office 365 also proved to be a brilliant idea of Nadella, which positions Microsoft in the top 5 most powerful tech companies on the planet.
Top 5 wouldn’t be complete without Facebook on the list. After the scandal faced in 2016 when more than 80 million users were improperly approached to influence the U.S. elections, Facebook continues to keep its strong position on the market. Wall Street doesn’t know about scandals or anything else. Wall Street talks only about money. Therefore, after a drop in shares from $195 to $145, Facebook showed fast signs of recovery. There is still no serious competitor for the Facebook business model which can convince the existing 2.2 million users to shift to something else. The company’s portfolio is also developing quite well. Messenger and Whatsapp have more than 1.3 billion users together, Instagram is nearly reaching the 1 billion target, and Oculus has a lot of potential to become number one in virtual reality.
China manages to keep close to the U.S. big tech companies with this growth machine known as Alibaba. The progress is immense. If we take a look at the numbers, Alibaba revenue rose from $8.6 billion in 2014 to $38 billion in 2018. Alibaba is a significant player for the Chinese mobile e-commerce market, but it is also shifting to the physical retail. They aim to offer more alternatives to their customers, opening various supermarkets and grocery delivery stores for their loyal clients. But, Alibaba doesn’t stop here as they also experience significant growth in cloud computing, international retail, digital media, and entertainment. Alibaba’s affiliate, Ant Financial, is rapidly becoming a significant player on the market.
Asia is experiencing a technological renaissance, showing Silicon Valley that Asian tech companies can become serious players on the tech market. Tencent quickly became an important player. Even though it still didn’t enter on a significant American exchange, Tencent is almost unstoppable. Its ambitious endeavors focus on social media, gaming, music, online videos, and e-commerce. However, the most thriving application developed by Tencent is WeChat, known across the world as one of the best social media and payments platforms. With more than 1 billion users, WeChat is one app that we are going to hear about. Tencent Games is also very well-know around the Globe with famous games like Fortnite, League of Legends, or Arena of Valor behind it.
Samsung Electronics
Business owners take the time to ensure that their websites are easy to navigate. Samsung
Electronics is the living proof of that. The South Korean based company has become a serious competitor for Apple in the mobile industry thanks not only to its top-notch Galaxy models but also smartmarketing and brand representation. Via their website as well.
Forbes Global 2000 top includes 130 tech companies across the world. This can only show that information technology companies have a huge potential and they will be ruling the world many years from now. It is just a matter of time that they will also shift to artificial intelligence services and thus grow their profits even higher.
Guest post by Erica Sunarjo graduated from South Texas College majoring in Marketing and Creative Writing. She used her knowledge to make a difference in the realm of business copywriting and invested heavily in traveling and language learning. At present, Erica is fluent in French and Spanish, studying Chinese and working her way to being a multilingual copywriter. She keeps track of the latest trends in IT and technologies, blogs about efficient strategies in education and business coaching holds educational webinars.
Gennaro is the creator of FourWeekMBA, which reached about four million business people, comprising C-level executives, investors, analysts, product managers, and aspiring digital entrepreneurs in 2022 alone | He is also Director of Sales for a high-tech scaleup in the AI Industry | In 2012, Gennaro earned an International MBA with emphasis on Corporate Finance and Business Strategy.
