Google announced on August 15, 2011 its acquisition of Motorola Mobility, the biggest acquisition this online search and software company has ever made. It is interesting enough that Google chose to perform a strategic alliance with Motorola Mobility. Motorola is a great American company with a rich history of innovation including the invention of the first cell phone. As a result of this acquisition the expected result is to utilize Motorola Mobility’s IT resources to help maintain that sustainable competitive advantage. With Motorola Mobility now being under Google, the company would benefit from the expertise of the existing Motorola engineers and employees, and would be able to more closely integrate their Android OS with hardware, allowing them to compete with Apple’s Iphone/IOs.
While it’s true that with this $12.5 billion acquisition, Google intends to improve their sustainable competitive advantage by using IT Hardware from Motorola Mobility, I believe it is only a small part of their overall approach to be competitive. In the book Managing & Using Information Systems, the authors Pearlson & Saunders point out in chapter 2, Google’s main competitive advantage “Google’s search algorithm is a source of competitive advantage for the search company” (P.51). In order to keep a sustainable competitive advantage Google should continue to build on their strengths by introducing innovative products, continued releases of their Android OS, and seeking out strategic alliances with multiple partners, which they have proven to be their greatest competitive advantage Jelin made reference to Apple “cashing in” on the idea of having strict control over their hardware and software, which has translated over to their mobile products like the Iphone. In fact in terms of mobile operating systems Apple was first to come out with their IOs in 2007, before Google later came out with Android in 2008. This is a classic example of one of Porter’s “Five Competitive Forces” described in Figure 2.3 in the Managing & Using Information Systems book, Pearlson & Saunders, (P.52). Android could have been seen as having a barrier to entry when compared to IOs, falling under the category of Potential threat of new entrants. However Android maintained its competitive advantage over Apple by keeping the mobile operating system open source, similar to Linux operating systems.
In the article “IT Doesn’t Matter”, Carr makes some good points, and provides some excellent examples of how companies have used IT for a sustainable competitive advantage. The two companies referred to more than once interestingly enough were Wal-Mart and Dell, and how they have been “able to turn temporary technological advantages into enduring positioning advantages.” I would have to disagree with Carr when he states that the opportunities for gaining IT based advantages are becoming less and less. Information Technology is here to stay will continue to influence how we live our lives, and do business. Companies who may not have a particular type of IT expertise or knowledge may depend on IT consulting companies, who would then assist these companies in becoming more competitive by using IT based strategies. As an example, I used to work for Accenture, and the slogan they have fits their description perfectly, “High Performance, Delivered”. Essentially this means that as an IT Consulting Company their mission is to transform companies and organizations lacking a particular set of IT expertise, into high performers with a competitive advantage in their respective industries.

Managing and using information systems: a strategic approach, Pearlson, Kari E., Saunders, Carol S.
IT Doesn't Matter. By: Carr, Nicholas G., Harvard Business Review, 00178012, May2003, Vol. 81, Issue 5
http://universalgyaan.wordpress.com/2012/07/13/androids-competitive-advantage/