Google Cloud BI Strategy: Develop a Dashboarding Product In-House or Acquire One

You are a product manager at Google Cloud. The company wants to offer its customers a data-visualization tool and is weighing two paths: develop one in-house, or acquire an existing product such as Looker. Which path would you recommend? Explain the reasoning that leads you there. ```hint Start from the cloud business A visualization tool can matter to Google Cloud for reasons beyond the money the tool itself earns. Decide what it should do for the wider cloud business first, and let that goal set the criteria you use to compare the paths. ``` ### Clarifying Questions - Are we deciding before Google acquired Looker, so Looker is a live target, or should Looker be treated as one example among several possible targets? - What does Google Cloud already offer for reporting and dashboards, and where does it fall short for large customers? - Is the main aim to win enterprise customers, to grow usage of Google's data warehouse, or to earn revenue from the tool itself? - Must the tool keep working with data stored on other clouds and databases, or only with Google's? ### What a Strong Answer Covers - The goal a visualization product serves for Google Cloud's wider business, grounded in its competitive position - Explicit criteria (such as time to market, strategic fit, customer access, cost and integration risk) applied consistently to each option - Options beyond the binary, such as partnering, and alternatives to the named target - A clear recommendation with the conditions that make it work after the decision - Success metrics, key risks, and the evidence that would reverse the decision ### Follow-up Questions - During negotiations the asking price rises sharply. How do you decide whether to walk away? - After a purchase, should the tool keep working with rival clouds and databases? Why? - How would you position it against Google's existing free reporting tool so customers are not confused by two overlapping products?