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Yesterday, Google released the surprising and pivotal news that the company will be reorganized under a larger brand, to be called Alphabet. The tech giant, whose standalone logo and brand name have been ironed into the public consciousness over many years, said it decided to make the change so it could devote more management resources to enterprises other than the search and browsing services.

After a fast and furious year of mergers and acquisitions, industry analysts have turned their attention toward 2015 to size up the potential for continued growth. One area of M&A that's expected to increase its impact in the New Year is banking. According to the Bank Director's 2015 Bank M&A Survey, roughly 50 percent of the participating financial institutions hoped to acquire another organization in 2015.

On this blog, we recently discussed 2015's ambitious start to the first quarter, but a new study about 2014 tech M&A activity puts the rapid growth into perspective. According to Tech World, the total value of mergers and acquisitions in the tech industry hit the $1 trillion mark last year.

"Think beyond just the big tech names," writes Krantz. "Investors have been piling into the shares of the mega tech names for years…but now the game is shifting smaller. The recent tech deals have centered around companies with an average market value of roughly $1 billion…The greatest opportunities for tech investors lie with the smaller large companies and the larger mid-caps."

One of the struggles small, successful startups face when they've been acquired by larger companies is reassuring their customer bases. Customers and users want confirmation that the same excellent quality and service they've enjoyed will continue through the new business partnership.

"Try to avoid gossiping and speculation," he cautions. "Focus on the work at hand. Of course, it doesn't hurt to do some networking while you are waiting for the outcome of the merger or acquisition, but avoid jumping at the first job that comes your way. Many times people get promoted during acquisitions and some get retention bonuses for taking on the risk of staying with the company."

Despite all the talk surrounding these expansive mergers, data from PitchBook, an M&A, private equity and venture capital database, tracked some of the trends in terms of enterprise tech/IT/software deals. Comparing the number of deals from 2010 to 2012 and then from 2013 to 2015, Erez Ofer at TechCrunch writes about the decline, steadiness and rise of certain enterprise mergers.

"Start your capital search with a good business plan that shows investors and lenders your company's potential," explains Inc. Magazine. "Follow that up with a thorough knowledge of the resources available and a determination to make your business a reality, and you should be on your way to uncovering a source that fits your new business's cash needs."

This wouldn't be a problem if it weren't likely or even inevitable that Google will launch an Uber challenger. Similarly, Apple has recently purchased MapSense, a startup that analyzes location data, to help improve its Maps application. Long seen as a distant quality rival to Google Maps, Apple's Maps technology has significant room for improvement before it becomes a serious threat to Google's geography and directional dominance.

Streamlining and securing documents is a major marketplace in the tech sphere, with more and more firms relying on cloud-based solutions for records and other materials. Two companies in the field have agreed to a merger: Axacore, Inc., a San Diego-based mortgage document management firm and Scrypt, Inc., a healthcare document company based in Austin, Texas.

When arriving at the terms of a merger or acquisition, third party avenues exist for executives to evaluate the sticker price of a company. However, experts say that the ultimate price a larger company pays for a smaller firm comes down to less objective metrics.

"The long, slow demise was an unsuccessful wait for a white knight, which could have been AOL," writes David Yi of Mashable. "[Sources say] that the company was still chugging along in hopes that it would attract a bigger media brand to sell to. One they were eyeing was AOL, which agreed to observe LuckyMag.com's traffic for a couple of months. When AOL decided to go in a different direction, Beachmint's CEO and co-founder Josh Berman finally pulled the last trigger this week."

A major draw for the launch of HG was the fact that one of its founders is indie film and music celebrity, Zooey Deschanel. The initial burst of interest surrounding the site was akin to the attention received by other lifestyle blogs with famous backers. While you may not have a network television star on speed dial, other types of earned media and cross-promotion can help get the word out about your blog from the beginning.

"AOL has once again become a digital trailblazer, and we are excited at the prospect of charting a new course together in the digitally connected world," said Lowell McAdam, Verizon chairman and CEO. "AOL's advertising model aligns with this approach, and the advertising platform provides a key tool for us to develop future revenue streams."

The company you founded has begun negotiations with a larger corporation that has an interest in acquiring your startup. After a series of phone calls and meetings, you determine a date when leadership from the corporation can visit your office to meet your team and see where the innovation happens.

Take Yahoo's touchstone acquisition of Tumblr, for example. We've discussed the purchase on this blog before, but one of the most striking things about it is the fact that Yahoo was traditionally known as a search engine and email service provider. As the tech landscape diversified over the last decade, the pressure for Yahoo to compete and remain relevant caused CEO Marissa Meyer to seek new ways to position the company. Tumblr, a blogging platform, is a space to view anything from celebrity memes to personal essays.

The intersection of advertising and social platforms has been long and evolving. Over the years, the primary goal for messaging services as well as other social media companies has been leveraging their wealth of engagement and usership into ad sales. However, the goal is to integrate advertising in a targeted, inconspicuous way that doesn't distract or deter users.

Sitting down with yourself and answering a few key questions is a good place to start when considering selling your company, or merging with another business. There are many factors that should come into play when talking about making such a big decision.

Near the end of a robust year in tech mergers, Cypress Semiconductor has announced plans to merge with Spansion, a flash memory microcontroller firm. The semiconductor company already manufactures technology for Bluetooth and touchscreen capable devices, and acquired Spansion for a reported $4 billion, according to GuruFocus.

In the technology M&A landscape it is not uncommon to hear that Google has made a recent acquisition deal. As a large company that is constantly working on a number of projects, it frequently needs access to new technologies or talented teams that will help it achieve its desired aims. As such, the company makes acquisitions from time to time.