Tell us about your company and specifics on your product/service.
Google’s mission is to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful. “Googol” is the mathematical term for a 1 followed by 100 zeros; Google’s play on the term reflects the company’s mission to organize the immense amount of information available on the web. As a first step in fulfilling that mission, Google’s founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin developed a new approach to searching for information online. They started their search engine in a Stanford University dorm room, but within a few years, information seekers around the globe were logging on to the new site. Google has experienced dizzying growth over the past few years; we were recently ranked the number two most-visited website in the US. Today Google is a global technology leader focused on improving the ways people connect to information. Our innovations in web search and advertising have made our website a top Internet destination and our brand one of the most recognized in the world. In fact, just recently Google was named the most powerful global brand of 2007 by market research group Millward Brown Optimor. Leading companies in our industry include Microsoft, Yahoo, eBay, Amazon, Interactive Corp., and a number of local companies that compete in specific international markets.
How many employees do you represent?
On a worldwide basis, Google employed 20,123 full-time employees as of September 30, 2008. In the Seattle area, we employ 500+ employees with engineering sites in Fremont and Kirkland as well as a sales office in Fremont.
Some of the specific focus areas in Seattle include:
Distributed programming languages and tools
Programming technologies for web-based applications
Multicore tools and technologies
Scalable database systems
Search infrastructure
Web applications, including Google Maps, Google Talk, Google Mail, and Google Video
Activity occurs at all levels: from the hardware to the operating system to the protocols to applications all the way out to software running on our customers’ computers.
The sales office focuses on the retail and travel verticals.
What makes your organization unique?
The culture. We’ve worked hard to build an environment which inspires our employees, whom we call Googlers, to do their best work. We’re continually strengthening a corporate culture rooted in transparency and innovation. Googlers are empowered by leaders to make decisions and pursue ideas that challenge the status quo both at Google and in the technology industry. Likewise, this sense of possibility spurs our employees on to new heights of innovation. As Google has grown in Seattle, we’ve sought to preserve the best aspects of our startup culture by keeping engineering teams small and empowering employees to make decisions and come up with ideas. We place ideas above hierarchy, allowing each employee to fully and personally invest in their projects. Engineers devote 20% of their time to work on independent projects. Many of our significant new products have come from these independent projects, including Google Talk, AdSense for content, and Google News – proof that trusting our employees to work on projects they are excited about leads to terrific products.
How long has your company been a member of the Washington Technology Industry Association?
3-4 years.
Why did you join the WTIA?
We joined the WTIA to connect with and support the local technology community – both academic and industry. WTIA has established a network of organizations where relationships, connections, and the sharing of information will help the state of Washington be a leader in technology advancement.
For more information on Google, visit www.google.com.
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