SPEAKER 1: Google Cloud Next 2017
featured a rich variety of talks detailing the future of cloud.
If you didn't get a chance to catch the "Location-Powered,
On-Demand Economy," then stay tuned,
because here's the recap.
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SPEAKER 2: Powered by smart phones and the ability
to determine location, the on-demand economy
reflects a significant shift in user behaviors
and expectations.
SPEAKER 1: As a result, we've seen significant disruptions
in many traditional businesses.
For example, we used to hail a taxi on the street.
Now we can request a car from an app on our phones.
Or consider that eating restaurant food at home
was limited to take-out or pizza delivery.
Today, we can get anything from fresh ingredients
to meals from just about any restaurant delivered
within the hour.
It's important to note that these new business
models are driven by location-powered technology.
Customers request cars or place an order
on their apps that indicate their current location.
Meanwhile, the fleet of drivers and delivery people fulfilling
those requests are constantly using location-powered apps
to figure out how to get to their customers.
SPEAKER 2: For example, traditional taxi and delivery
drivers had to memorize routes and locations
to efficiently navigate their cities
without digital assistance.
But with real-time navigation and routing technology,
this need for specialized knowledge
is removed, enabling businesses to significantly increase
their fleet of drivers with less training cost.
Now you can include those same features
within your own apps using the Google Maps APIs, which
are available on Android, iOS, web, and HTTP-based services.
These APIs give you the power to do everything
from visualizing points on a map to routing and planning
for deliveries to preprogramming television remotes based
on their physical location.
SPEAKER 1: In order to understand
how to take best advantage of these features,
let's focus on user habits and expectations.
Constant technology advancements have
led to the user expectations of continuous improvements
in speed and convenience.
We expect our web pages to load faster,
our movies to be higher resolution,
our deliveries to arrive within minutes,
and our phones to not only tell us how to reach a destination,
but also to navigate around accidents or bad traffic.
In terms of services, that translates
into expectations for continually improving
simplicity and predictability.
Sadly, one caveat with this economic trend
is that while user expectations for simple and convenient
services is on the rise, willingness
to pay for them is on the decline.
For example, cheap fixed price physical deliveries soon
became unlimited free delivery.
And low prices for digital goods quickly
evolved into unlimited plans for music video and mobile data.
With service expectations increasing
and consumer willingness to pay decreasing,
the challenge for companies is to find
ways to deliver efficiencies of scale that
will enable the margins that they need to thrive.
SPEAKER 2: The issue with location-based systems
is no longer the logistics in managing a fleet,
deploying it, or even getting to the last mile.
Instead, the challenge has shifted
to the last tenth of a mile.
For example, it's not enough to just go to an address.
You now have to find a specific person standing
on the corner of that address.
The result is that the new location-based economy
isn't really about location.
It's about places.
The concept of a place is important to consumers
on the move.
People want to know that before they head out to a restaurant,
is it going to be busy?
Is it open right now?
Or is it even worth going to?
While the previous location-based data changes
slowly--
months at a time--
this new location economy is filled
with information that's dynamic, affected by the time of day,
traffic, local events, and even changes in a business location.
SPEAKER 1: Keeping up with all of these changes yourself
globally is really hard, which is where Google can help.
The Google Maps team is committed
to finding creative solutions to help developers
like you find efficiencies in the last tenth of a mile.
The result is that our Mapping APIs return up-to-the-minute
data that reflects the dynamic nature of the location-powered
economy.
Check out the full recording of this session
to see more examples of location,
the on-demand economy, and what the future holds.
And of course, if you want more recaps on great Next content,
make sure to check out the rest of our playlist.
And don't forget the next world tour coming soon
to a city near you.
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