26 DISRUPTION NETWORKS
WHO BOASTS A BILLION USERS ?
If ever the importance of digital platforms to both personal and professional life were in question , the following giants serve to dispel all doubts . How do we know they ’ re important ? More than a billion people say so .
Each of the networks and platforms that follow has surpassed the one billion mark — be it downloads , devices or users . In reality , the figures are likely much higher , but difficulties in calculating the true numbers have led to conservative estimates .
Google products account for almost half of the line-up , while Facebook features strongly in the list , with its presence boosted by Facebook Messenger as well as WhatsApp , which it acquired in 2014 for US $ 19 billion .
The platforms are all American-owned , but the similarities don ’ t end there — each one operates according to a powerful premise : the more people who use them , the more valuable they become . In the process , the competition is all but crushed .
Note : For the purposes of this article , only platforms that require users to create and / or pay for an account have been included .
1 .
ANDROID 2 BILLION
In May , Google CEO , Sundar Pichai , announced that the company ’ s Android operating system now has more than two billion monthly active devices .
2 .
FACEBOOK 2 BILLION
Facebook had 1.968 billion monthly active users as of April 2017 . Like Android , that figure now exceeds two billion .
3 .
MICROSOFT WINDOWS 1.5 BILLION
Microsoft Windows was launched on 20th November 1985 and now holds over 90 % of the desktop OS market share .
4 .
MICROSOFT OFFICE 1.2 BILLION
Officially announced by Bill Gates in 1988 , Microsoft Office ’ s suite of applications , servers and services reportedly reached one billion users as far back as 2012 .
EMERGING MARKETS BUSINESS SUMMER 2017 ISSUE NO . 3