Why the gbrowser is coming

Google are going to develop to their own browser. This is not a possibility - this is a necessity. The question is simply: when?

Why am I so certain of this? Simple.

According to Google’s financial report for Q1 2005, Google had revenues of over $1.2 billion.

97% of this is generated by its AdWords advertising program.

Of these revnues, 52% is generated on Google’s own sites, especially by providing sponsored results beside natural search results.

47% is generated on third-party sites, via AdSense publishing.

Both of these methods involve the display of adverts to an internet user, which may then be clicked upon, generating revenues for Google.

Now, let’s take a more lateral view of that:

90% of Google’s revenues come from Internet Explorer.

This shows an astonishing degree of vulnerability to Google’s revenues - an almost sole reliance on a single software product from a single company. And a rival internet company at that.

So Google isn’t faced with a simple choice - it’s faced with an essential decision.

After all, Microsoft could implement “security” features in a future version of Internet Explorer, which could “inadvertently” block Google AdSense by default. Additionally, it could even block advertising on a page, and replace it with its own publisher network ads, which are on their way.

In the event of either of these scenarios being realised, and even should Microsoft allow any such options to be switched off, the results would be catastrophic to Google: its revenues would crash, and its stock value would plummet.

Not possible? We already had a limited scare on this reported earlier this year.

Did Google not notice? Only if you presume a company founded on technological innovation and forward planning as blind and dumb on current IT developments.

It would demand a level of incompetence and short-sightedness uncharastic of Google to accept this degree of risk and vulnerability.

So it has to build its own branded internet browser, and use its current internet market share to push its use. It’s a necessary choice.

A company such as Google would be able to load it with features - the Google Toolbar as installed by default, links to Google maps for reference purposes, Google Web Accelerator and Autolink as options, and any number of surprises that the company could muster to help push its marketing, uptake, and continued use.

And reduction in vulnerability.

Google certainly have a history of hiring Mozilla developers, and have even touched upon Mozilla development. To some observers, it was nothing more than Google developing useful ties with open source.

However, those ties remain limited and one way - Google has yet to develop a Google Toolbar for Mozilla Firefox, which is a very curious omission considering its apparent support for that project. The reason can only emphasise the reliance the company has developed on an audience built around Internet Explorer.

The writing is clearly on the wall - the Google browser must be, and it will be.

In fact, Silicon Valley think they’ve already seen it. And the BBC has reported that Google have already registered gbrowser.com.

Of course, what it will be finally called is another matter. But whether it is called the Google Browser, or Gbrowser, there is one thing you can be sure of - it is coming.

This is not a possibility - this is a necessity. The question is simply: when?