What’s going on in Google and Waze?

Someone asked me yesterday if I was surprised by Google's latest news, that they are merging Waze and Google Geo organization.

Well, I was surprised, but let me start by saying that I’m not there for a long while, so I don’t really have inside information. So, I was surprised, or at least half surprised as there were recent rumors in the industry that Google is about to let go of some 11,000 employees as part of their cost saving efforts.

So, we can assume the reason for this step is Google looking to save money. Maybe. But the next question is what's next? Would Google maps and Waze apps be merged into one, I was asked many times in recent years.

To be honest, I don’t know, but I believe they will not merge, and there are three main reasons for that.

1. One of the reasons Google acquired Waze, was the way people were using Waze on their daily commute – every day vs. the way people used Google maps which is when they searched for something they don’t know how to get to. Therefore, the frequency of use of Waze would be much higher.?

Even today, when I ask Waze users how often they use Waze – I would normally hear 'every day', or 'every time I get into my car'. When I ask that Google Maps users, the answer is often – 'when I need it', or 'every time that …' so the use case is different.

At the end of the day, an app is optimized for its users and the use case. The result is simple, Waze is not good for other use cases than driving and specially commuting, and Google Maps is less optimized for commuters.

2. There is a hidden assumption that if we take these top two navigation/driving applications and merge them into one, we will get something that is better.

The truth is that we don’t know that, and it will certainly be very confusing to all the users, as it will be hard for them to get used to a new app.

Just imagine that you will take two top cars, say Mercedes S class and BMW 7 series, and merge them into one car – the winner might be someone else.

Over the years each one of those car makers has built differentiators in their product to distinguish themselves from the other. If you want to merge the product, there are few options, choose one or the other or blur the differences, which then might lose to Audi, for instance.

3. Don’t rock the boat, not for the users – users don’t like changes, and definitely not dramatic ones. Merging apps means dramatic changes. Users may react badly and in a way the winner will be a third party.

?If I were in the shoes of the new Chief Wazer, what would I do? ?

The same advice that I give to nearly all my companies these days – profitability, period. No-one will be shutting down a profitable company.