Google was the hottest brand in the world in 2005, followed by Apple, Skype, Starbucks and Ikea, according to an annual survey.
Google, which went public in the summer of 2004, reclaimed the top slot as the world’s most influential brand in 2005, beating Apple in what is shaping up to be a back and forth contest through the years for these two high-tech companies. Apple, which has impressed with its tremendous amount of new product be it iPod, iPod Nano, iPod Video and Mac Mini, had knocked Google off the top slot in 2004. Google had headed the list in 2002 and 2003.
According to the survey conducted by online branding magazine Brandchannel.Com, although Apple loses the battle for world dominance this year in global results, it soundly beats Google at home.
Similar to the global contest, the two have shared top five distinctions in the US and Canada results for the last four years.
Well below these two leaders but taking the third place for global brands is the newcomer Skype, which rapidly took off in Europe before being bought by eBay in September 2005.
Google is most influential brand of 2005
January 24, 2006, 9:45 amFor Microsoft, India is ground for innovation
January 24, 2006, 9:42 am
For Microsoft, the world’s largest software company, India appears to be the country where it sees many of its innovations happening, going by presentations made by top executives of the firm on Monday.
Kicking off the day’s proceedings, Ravi Venkatesan, chairman of Microsoft India, said that Microsoft was developing strategic, IP sensitive, long-term-oriented product development in India, at its India Development Centre in Hyderabad.
He said Microsoft was innovating in India for the world and for the domestic market as well. Neelam Dhawan, managing director of Microsoft India, said the company was working with 200 solution partners and 275 Independent Software Vendors in India to deliver "future-proof IT infrastructure, business intelligence tools and real-time collaboration". The IDC, which was launched nearly eight years ago, had filed for 40 patents in 2005, and expects to file for 70 patents in 2006, said Srini Koppulu, managing director of the Microsoft India Development Centre. The MIDC is the Microsoft’s largest development centre outside the United States, and had over 900 engineers working for it, Mr Koppulu, a 17-year veteran of Microsoft, said. The MIDC was currently focusing on the development of Radio Frequency Identification platform technologies, besides developing the Data Protection Manager, services for Unix and Visual Studio 2005 for mobile devices.
Apart from product development, the company has its global services, global delivery centre and global technical support centre. The centre in Hyderabad is an extension of the existing enterprise services practices globally, Microsoft Global Services India managing director Arumugam Saravanan said. MGSI handles the implementation of high-value Microsoft solutions.
According to Moorthy K. Uppaluri, managing director of the Microsoft Global Delivery Centre, also based in Hyderabad, the GDC helps in maintaining mission critical tasks for clients around the world. "It is the true extension of Microsoft’s global IT team," he said.
Kicking off the day’s proceedings, Ravi Venkatesan, chairman of Microsoft India, said that Microsoft was developing strategic, IP sensitive, long-term-oriented product development in India, at its India Development Centre in Hyderabad.
He said Microsoft was innovating in India for the world and for the domestic market as well. Neelam Dhawan, managing director of Microsoft India, said the company was working with 200 solution partners and 275 Independent Software Vendors in India to deliver "future-proof IT infrastructure, business intelligence tools and real-time collaboration". The IDC, which was launched nearly eight years ago, had filed for 40 patents in 2005, and expects to file for 70 patents in 2006, said Srini Koppulu, managing director of the Microsoft India Development Centre. The MIDC is the Microsoft’s largest development centre outside the United States, and had over 900 engineers working for it, Mr Koppulu, a 17-year veteran of Microsoft, said. The MIDC was currently focusing on the development of Radio Frequency Identification platform technologies, besides developing the Data Protection Manager, services for Unix and Visual Studio 2005 for mobile devices.
Apart from product development, the company has its global services, global delivery centre and global technical support centre. The centre in Hyderabad is an extension of the existing enterprise services practices globally, Microsoft Global Services India managing director Arumugam Saravanan said. MGSI handles the implementation of high-value Microsoft solutions.
According to Moorthy K. Uppaluri, managing director of the Microsoft Global Delivery Centre, also based in Hyderabad, the GDC helps in maintaining mission critical tasks for clients around the world. "It is the true extension of Microsoft’s global IT team," he said.
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