Google Ukraine country manager Dmytro Sholomko said the nation is high on the tech giant’s agenda but not all of its Internet-related services are localized in Ukraine.
Speaking at a meeting organized by
EKO Phygital Hub on Oct. 3, Sholomko recalled he was Google’s only employee in
Ukraine when the office was established in 2006. Now 20 people are employed making the Ukrainian office one of the 10 biggest earners in the company’s European ecosystem.
Part of the reason is that its search
engine is favored by 66 percent of local users, according to Gemius, a
consultancy. Founded in 1998 by Stanford University graduates Larry Page and
Sergey Brin, the multinational firm has a market capitalization of $400 billion
as of February, the second largest among tech companies.
In Ukraine, Russia’s Yandex is the
closest rival for online searches, reaching 50 percent of users.
Moreover, 36 percent of online users
favor Google’s Chrome web browser, having surpassed Opera, a veteran browser launched
in 1995 that still enjoys 25 percent of penetration, according to Gemius.
Android, an open-source mobile operating system developed by Google, is also a
leader with 49 percent of mobile device users preferring it, says a recent report
by IDC, a market research company.
Talking about web searches, Google’s
core business, Sholomko noted that there’s surprisingly little difference in
what Ukrainians look for before and after the Euromaidan Revolution. Most users
still search for popular TV shows, however there are clearly increasing trends
for queries related to buying military products like bulletproof vests.
He also noted that queries about the
boycott of Russian products had only been popular when the campaign was on the rise,
but almost disappeared afterwards. He added that the Google Ukraine team had
done much to support independent television journalism like the Hromadske and Espreso
stations, however he wouldn’t provide details.
Other services see high levels of
usage as well, said the head of Google Ukraine. Google Maps are the only
exception because of strong competition from Yandex. “We have a strong rival
(in the cartography segment), but I can’t say ‘use Google (Maps) and don’t use
Yandex (Maps).’ Yandex is good as well,” he said, adding that Google enjoys higher
overall usage of services than its Russian competitor.
A new product released in July, Play
Music, is gaining in popularity. It is a legal streaming service available in
Ukraine that provides unlimited access to a big library of musical tracks for
Hr 59. A single track could be purchased for up to Hr 12 and an album – for up to Hr 100.
On Sept. 25, the tech giant also launched its Play Books service that allows users
to purchase e-books straight from the Play Store. Globally the service was launched
in 2011.
The company’s mobile electronic
Google Wallet payment system has yet to be launched locally. Ukraine’s
legislation first much catch up with reality in terms of electronic payments.
If launched today, the service could be deemed illegal, Sholomko explained.
Apart from the restrictions
determined by law, Google also has restrictions of its own, some of which are
being met with frustration by Ukrainian businesses. The policy of AdSense, an
advertising platform, prohibits usage on sites that sell or facilitate the sale
of weapons and ammunition. This even applies to local stores that sell knives.
“Knives are weapons. Google has its
principles, including the policy regarding weapons. We also don’t allow
advertising by tobacco companies,” said Sholomko. “We currently see many
Ukrainian stores that used to sell, let’s say, electrical tools, but now are
selling firearms. We ban them instantly.”
Andrii Degeler is the Kyiv Post’s
information technology reporting fellow. Degeler has been covering the IT
business in Ukraine and internationally since 2009. His fellowship is sponsored
by AVentures Capital, Ciklum, FISON and SoftServe. He can be reached
on Twitter (@shlema) or [email protected].
