Google launches Street View service in Romania

Google launched the Google Maps Street View service in Romania, which will be available in 8 cities, the main ski resorts on Valea Prahovei and the Black Sea Coast.

The user can navigate through panoramic pictures that present the streets in Bucharest, Arad, Oradea, Brasov, Timisoara, Cluj, Sibiu and Constanta. In total, Street View covers 6,000 kilometers in Romania.

Street View was first available in USA in 2007 and is currently available in several countries in North America, Australia, Europe and Asia.

Romania is the 27th country where this service is made available.

Street View was conceived as a tool that could help both individuals and companies in their activities. Industries such as tourism or real estate are expected to be among the ones that could most benefit from it. “This service does not represent a business model, we are not cashing in with Street View, we are just trying to attract more users,” said Dan Bulucea, Country manager Google Romania.

The pictures included in Streetview were shot in 2008 and 2009 and Bulucea said hopefully they will be updated every 1-2 years, but the expansion of the coverage area will also depend on the way Romanians receive this service.

Even though Google is internationally faced with trials regarding the Street View service, the Country manager insisted that precautions were taken so that the faces of the people, license plates of cars will be blurred and also, that anyone can ask that a certain building be taken off the map.

Google office in Romania

Google recently announced that it opened an office in Romania, which was already long expected to happen. Currently the team of Google Romania counts two people, including Country Manager Dan Bulucea, but the company plans to hire more people next year especially on marketing and sales positions. Google country manager Dan Bulucea answered several questions from BR.

How did your selection as country manager of Google Romania go?

The recruitment process started a few months ago and was rather discrete. I personally do not know what other candidates were there or how many there were. There was a series of interviews by phone and face to face, most of them with people from the regional management of Google. But there were also discussions pear-to-pear discussions with similar people so that I could better understand what needs Google has. It was a pleasant experience because I got to know a part of the people there and how work is being done in this company.

How much did your long experience in Microsoft count?

It probably mattered, I couldn’t quantify it, but I had gained experience in all that means IT, communications, internet and future trends. In Microsoft I had various roles and there is a connection between what I have been doing there and here. If we talk of the idea of cloud computing, Microsoft is going in the same direction, but I would say that there is no company that does not have a strategy in this direction.

Whom do you report directly in this position?

Romania is part of the Central and Eastern Europe region which is also part of the region that includes South Europe, Middle East and Africa. But the organization is rather dynamic, I could not bet that in three months’ time it will be the same. The market is also dynamic.

You said during the press conference that you intend to focus on SMEs rather than large companies? Why?

We will target both, but I think the difference will show especially in the area of small enterprises, because the large ones already know how to promote themselves. It is rather unlikely that a large company does not have a rather solid presence in the online. But 80 percent of small companies in Romania do not have an online presence, and this is where we can make a major difference.

Let us say I have a small company who comes to Google Romania for help. What budget must I have?

The budget can start from several USD to a large sum. The client has total control on the budget he wishes to invest every day and can see in a dynamic way who visits the site and will pay only if someone clicks on the message they have received.

How many people will work in the Romanian office?

We estimate there will be 7-8 people working for Google Romania by the end of next year. We have not defined all the positions at this point. However, the number of employees who work for offering products in Romania and improving services in Romania is much higher and it is distributed in various places in the world. For example, the team that developed the Street View service we launched today is in Switzerland. A part of the support team that serves Romania is in Ireland, for example. The people we want to recruit for the local office must feel at ease in a fast changing environment. As professional background, experience in online and advertising can be useful, but we will not confine to that, because these things can be learned.

Where is the Google headquarters right now?

In Bucharest City Center, it is a rented space.

What growth do you estimate for Google Romania next year?

The estimated growth for the local online market next year is 30 percent while for 2012 is about 50 percent. I agree with these estimations, I would even dare to be more optimistic. In Google Romania, we aim to have an evolution that is at least in line with the market.

Otilia Haraga

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