According to a report by The Economic Times, Indian app developers hold the belief that the disentanglement of Google’s app ecosystem in India will present opportunities for them to establish innovative business models, through collaborations with hardware companies and the utilization of new operating systems, thereby increasing user engagement.
This shift could also pave the way for Indian developers to replicate the thriving ecosystem in China, where the presence of various operating systems offers consumers ample choice.
“The potential outcomes are limitless and it could even emulate the most advantageous aspect of China’s ecosystem where there are multiple operating system options and flourishing app stores for users to choose from – including Google as a potential option,” stated Rohan Verma, CEO and Executive Director of MapmyIndia.
“This will bring balance to the competition and I believe that this fragmentation will only benefit the ecosystem by providing users with more choices, while also challenging Google’s dominant position,” Verma added.
After the Competition Commission of India (CCI) imposed a penalty, Google announced changes in its operation of Android and the Google Play store’s billing services. In October, the antitrust watchdog gave Google close to 20 directives to alter its operations in India.
Murugavel Janakiraman, CEO of BharatMatrimony, told The Economic Times that the unbundling of Google’s app ecosystem in India will create numerous new opportunities for partnerships with original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) or the development of micro Play Stores.
Janakiraman added, “At present, we lack robust and attractive alternatives to challenge Google, who has taken advantage of its monopoly. However, in the future, such options may emerge, where other software or service providers can offer competitive alternatives, similar to how Google leveraged Android.”
These changes will empower device manufacturers to choose the apps they want to offer to customers. Previously, Google included multiple of its own apps with the Android OS. Additionally, Google is modifying its backend to support non-compatible or forked versions of Android.
