Will Google launch Apps for Enterprise soon?
January 29, 2007: Google and its team of Googlers are masters at Google promotion, as I put forth in “Google's secret weapon is a four letter word.”
Googler deftness at spinning the merits of Google Apps for your Domain service is of particular note, as I analyze in “Google to Microsoft: Wolf in sheep’s clothing?.”
In “Google battles Microsoft” I underscore how Google CEO Eric Schmidt is determined to make the Google application cloud “something you'd use everyday in everyday life,” instead of Microsoft Office, and present Google’s plans for a Enterprise, or “premium,” version of Google Apps for Your Domain in this first quarter of 2007.
Is Google on track? Google has for the most part been mum this 2007 on the status of its impending diversification efforts: Google Audio Ads for Radio (see"Google Radio: Will Audio Ads make money"), Google Apps Enterprise Edition…No major news announcements have been forthcoming from Google on any front. Perhaps Google is waiting to make its report to Wall Street on Wednesday.
Executive Googlers continue to make the case for Google nevertheless.
Dave Girouard, vice president and general manager, Google Enterprise, addressed the Massachusetts Technology Leadership Council last week, warning of an IT “crisis” that risks stifling business innovation and offering Google Apps for Enterprise as a solution.
Computerworld cites Giroud:
The “insane complexity” of technology is leading companies to spend 75-80% of IT budgets simply maintaining the systems they have already. Besides a shortage of money, Girouard says CIOs face strict regulations and an impending brain drain with many IT officials approaching retirement.
The way Google built what is on the order of a US$10 billion business in eight years was through some pretty amazing innovation. CIOs in particular are really in a difficult situation, and innovation isn’t something they can spend the majority of their waking hours talking about. The information technology business as it pertains to large businesses has become a lot of maintenance, Giroud said.
How can organizations better innovate? Giroud:
A lot of things that people think of as core IT functions need to disappear into the ether so that the IT organization can properly focus on the value-added.
In other words, the Google cloud to the enterprise rescue.
ALSO: "Google Enterprise strategy: ‘Death to the hierarchy’" and “Google: Who needs advertising?”