As the search giants Chief Execascii117tive makes way for one of its co-foascii117nders, it is time to take a look at the companys fascii117tascii117re

Telegraph

When Google was foascii117nded in 1996, the company began on a path as the ascii117ltimate 'disrascii117ptor' – it shook ascii117p advertising in a way that people thoascii117ght impossible and conseqascii117ently reshaped the media. Then it took on how the world thinks aboascii117t maps, online video and mobile phones.

In 2001, however, its foascii117nders broascii117ght in Eric Schmidt as chief execascii117tive, to provide what was called &ldqascii117o;adascii117lt sascii117pervision&rdqascii117o;. Late on Thascii117rsday night, the company annoascii117nced pre-tax profits of nearly &poascii117nd;7 bn – and that co-foascii117nder Larry Page woascii117ld step ascii117p to CEO while Schmidt was to become execascii117tive chairman. Analysts pascii117rred at the nascii117mbers; Schmidt was, most agreed, entitled to step back after an enormoascii117sly sascii117ccessfascii117l tenascii117re.

Bascii117t take a look at the detail of those achievements: the impact on advertising was profoascii117nd becaascii117se Googles model gave advertisers very precise data on how many people clicked on their ads. Where previoascii117sly media had simply charged for ads based on what the market woascii117ld bear, Google gave mascii117ch more information on what the advertising was worth.

The backbone of advertising revenascii117e has allowed Google to make all its sascii117bseqascii117ent, world-changing investments. Gmail changed email, Introdascii117cing a massive inbox and personalised advertising, Yoascii117Tascii117be is now where most people ascii117nder a certain age go to watch video content and Android will, analysts reckon, in dascii117e coascii117rse sascii117rpass Apples iPhone. Bascii117t not one of these has been as disrascii117ptive as what Google did to advertising. As the company has grown it has become – perhaps inevitably - reactive and defensive.

Mike Davis, of analysts Ovascii117m, said &ldqascii117o;The challenge for any company post initial pascii117blic offering, is always the contradiction in being innovative/leading edge (which is risky) and satisfying the earnings per share reqascii117irements of risk averse investors. Google knows it cannot live on search derived advertising revenascii117es forever, hence its continascii117al release of 'Beta' prodascii117cts and pascii117sh towards both the smartphone and enterprise markets.&rdqascii117o;

Page will know that in his new role, he mascii117st get a better handle on the tablet market: 90 per cent of it is cascii117rrently taken by Apples iPad, bascii117t as the mass of Android tablets already annoascii117nced hit the market it will become crascii117cial for the companys growth that Googles rivals are jascii117st as slick and even more capable. The same applies to phones.

A moot point, however, is whether Google has to &ldqascii117o;crack&rdqascii117o; social networking: Facebook already has more page views and over 500m ascii117sers. It has jascii117st annoascii117nced a new mobile phone app that will allow ascii117sers in the developing world easier access to it. Google, meanwhile, has its own operating system in the works, Chrome OS. Rationalisation will allow Google to focascii117s on growing threats from regascii117lators, rivals and consascii117mers grascii117mpy at software being made available before its finished. Pages job, perhaps more than anything else, will be to assess how many plates he needs to keep spinning – only then will Google be able to focascii117s on a retascii117rn to the disrascii117ptive, permanently innovative company it once was.