Although Ukraine hasn't been a pioneer in using the Internet to promote and run businesses, the vice president of Google Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Central and Eastern Europe thinks it's only a matter of time before Ukraine catches up.
“Ukraine is one of the top 10 countries in Europe in terms of Internet users, and it’s moving rapidly,” Philipp Justus told the Kyiv Post on Nov. 11. “We want to play our part in the digital transformation of Ukraine, the process of which is just a matter of time.”
Justus arrived in Ukraine to deliver a speech at a Google conference on Nov. 11, which was held to share the company’s view on worldwide trends, show off successful examples of running online businesses in Ukraine using Google tools, and to educate and encourage people to promote their businesses on the Internet.
According to Justus, rapid changes in the way people search for information dictate the way businesses should promote their services. The biggest changes, he said, happened when smartphones became popular and people started using them to access the Internet.
Vice President of Google Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Central and Eastern Europe Philipp Justus delivers his speech at the Google conference on digital tranformation of Ukraine in Kyiv on Nov. 11.
He said the invention of the smartphone has almost made people forget that there was once a time when you might have no connection to the online world. Now, he said, “you can always go online and find the information that you need.”
He says the average smartphone user opens his device more than 130 times a day. “Consumers don’t make a distinction between online and offline anymore,” he said. “You have it all the time.”
However, the late introduction of the third generation (3G) mobile phone networks in Ukraine has played a role in slowing down the process. European countries got 3G in 2007-2008.
“I don’t live in Ukraine, so I have less data, but I understand that Ukraine just introduced 3G networks this year,” Justus said. “That means that high-speed access on mobile devices has only really been available since this year.”
Smartphone penetration is different for various countries. According to Telecompaper, it is currently at 67 percent in Germany, 84 percent in the Netherlands, and 41 percent in Ukraine.
“It’s higher in Western Europe. But again the trends are the same,” he said. “So, we see a lot of potential for Google in Ukraine.”
Google provides a platform for small- and medium-sized local businesses to gain a presence on the Internet. Justus says most companies in Eastern Europe and in Ukraine are still not online, so potential customers can’t find them easily to see what products they offer.
“We want to change that. That’s what Google products are for. We help to add location, basic information, links, physical address – to reach customers online,” he said. “So it’s like a business card, but an electronic one. Our goal is to help small businesses go online and succeed online.”
According to Justus, digital transformation is a source of growth for Ukraine – as both a country and as a market: “Digital transformation will accelerate economic growth in Ukraine.”
Vice President of Google Germany, Austria, Switzerland and CEE Philipp Justus delivers his speech at the Google conference on digital tranformation of Ukraine in Kyiv on Nov. 11.
“The Internet can reach any customer for any business,” Justus said. “Any business becomes a digital business. Every company should become a digital company, whether you are selling software, services, physical products or anything else.”
The way Justus sees it, the Internet is a powerful tool to turn every company into an international one, broaden its market and offer its services abroad.
“It is much easier to effectively address not only your country, but international markets,” he said. “The barriers have become much lower to do that, because you have the Internet as a platform and that allows you to have websites in multiple languages.”
Asked about Google’s mission in Ukraine, Justus said that even a small flower shop on the corner needs to find its place online, and Google is ready to offer freemium platforms for this purpose.
“We want to support Ukraine. We see it as a growth opportunity for the economy of Ukraine. We’re looking forward to providing platforms and education.”
Kyiv Post staff writer Denys Krasnikov can be reached at [email protected]. The
Kyiv Post’s IT coverage is sponsored by Looksery, Ciklum, Steltec
Capital and SoftServe.
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