February has been a busy month for Google. If you use Gmail, you know they have integrated mail with Google Talk instant messaging. You can now send and receive instant messages right from your Gmail inbox.The Gmail team also introduced a service called Gmail for Your Domain:
This special beta test lets you give Gmail, Google's webmail service, to every user at your domain. Gmail for your domain is hosted by Google, so there's no hardware or software for you to install or maintain.I don't know what the terms of service will be, but this could be a big hit with small to medium size businesses.
More recently Google announced a beta test of Google Page Creator. This service lets you create your own web site at <yourname>.googlepages.com. It features a WYSIWYG page editor and a 100 Mb allowance for files at googlepages.com. That's 10 times more than my ISP allows and I have to pay for that service. Not surprisingly, Google was overwhelmed with people registering to test Google Page Creator. The beta is now temporarily closed to new registrations.Finally, Garett Rogers reports Google is working on a new calendar service. There is no official word from Google on when the service will be announced, but you can bet it will generate lots of buzz.
Mail, instant messaging, calendar, blogs and home pages. Do you think Google is interested in the collaboration market? Right now, all of these services are funded by advertising revenue and tested by an army of unpaid workers (you and me). I wonder. Is it just a matter of time before Google begins selling a hosted collaboration suite directly to businesses?
2 comments:
And how long 'til it sells a collaboration appliance to large enterprise (equivalent to the Google search appliance) for those that won't use the ASP model?
Doug, that's a scary thought. I wonder whether it would be possible to implement a collaboration appliance. I confess I don't know much about Google's search appliance. However, collaboration seems like a broader application domain than search.
I think the big question here is, "Where Google is going with their business model?" It's a big jump from ad-based revenue to ASP or to enterprise appliances. They have the luxury of trying lots of different models now. It will be fun to watch when they take a big step in a new direction.
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