Google puckers up to biz world

Goes after big fish, little fish with new products

By Kelly Fiveash • Get more from this author

Posted in Software & Security, 2nd June 2009 18:26 GMT

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Google released a brace of new products today pitched at SMBs and high-end, tech savvy corporations.

The latest version of Search Appliance, which Google first launched in 2001, is aimed at large organisations with tons of paperwork to plough through.

Google said in a blog post that version 6 of the tool has the capacity to search billions of documents.

The company's distinctive yellow boxes that use Dell hardware and Intel chips are loaded with Google search software.

Previously Google offered three separate models of the appliance. From today it is now selling two boxes. The first - GB 7007 - can index between 500,000 and 10 million docs, and the second - GB 9009 - can index up to 30 million documents.

Google Search Appliance - GB1001 - 2U yellow rackmounted server

Additionally, sys admins can now patch the appliances together enabling firms to carry out much larger searches in one hit.

Separately the firm also spun out a new dashboard feature for its Google Local Business Center, which is intended for small local businesses to be seen and heard on the interwebs.

"Now, imagine if there were a way for you to get a better understanding of how those customers are finding you," wrote Google software engineer Amer Shahnawaz.

"Did they search for 'pizza' or 'pasta' to get to the listing for your Italian restaurant? Do they live across town, but drive miles for your great selection of camping gear?... With information like that, you'd be able to make better informed decisions on how to drive more traffic to your listing and attract more customers."

The new dashboard tool allows biz owners to control the content of their business listings as they appear in Google Search and Google Maps, said the web kingpin. ®

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