By Erika Morphy TechNewsWorld Part of the ECT News Network
03/07/06 3:11 PM PT
"Google is an incredibly ambitious company, and it sees the cost of storage going down," Greg Sterling, a search engine analyst for the Kelsey Group, told TechNewsWorld.
"They see an opportunity to house people's content on their servers, giving users access to that content from any browser. They see themselves, in a certain way, as the network and the PC as an entry point."
How Much is 'Free' Costing You? Learn how DaveRamsey.com saw a 567% uplift in ROI with Omniture. This complimentary guide and webinar cover the most important factors in selecting an analytics solution. Download Now.
Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) inadvertently posted a PowerPoint presentation by CEO Eric Schmidt on its Web site, where bloggers who follow the company's doings promptly discovered it and then broadcast the information across the Internet.
Google has since removed the slides, but details about the internal document are still circulating. According to the slides, it appears as though Google is preparing to offer unlimited online storage space for users' desktop data.
This data includes just about any content generated on a personal computer, including e-mail, Web search history, photos, blogs and bookmarks.
Similar Model
Earlier this year, Google released a desktop tool that offered something similar but on a far smaller scale.
While useful for those who want a temporary vault to hold information they want to transfer to another computer, there's a rub: Google's servers store the data for only 30 days.
The plans Schmidt apparently outlined are far headier.
"Google is an incredibly ambitious company, and it sees the cost of storage going down," Greg Sterling, a search engine analyst for the Kelsey Group, told TechNewsWorld.
"They see an opportunity to house people's content on their servers, giving users access to that content from any browser. They see themselves, in a certain way, as the network and the PC as an entry point," he explained.
Privacy Concerns
When Google released the details about its desktop search tool, privacy advocates were alarmed.
It did not help matters that Google then revealed that its search data had been subpoenaed by the Justice Department after it refused to hand over the information the government was seeking.
Not only could this information be hacked -- a longstanding concern -- but now, apparently, it might be subpoenaed as well.
"The flap about NSA trying to subpoena search logs and records, and the negative PR which resulted -- plus a renewed interest in privacy online -- will make this new plan a difficult proposition to sell to the public," Sterling said. "Google would have to go to extraordinary lengths to reassure the public that their data was secure and private."
All or Nothing?
It is important not to think in extremes, though, Sterling cautioned. "This is not an all or nothing proposition: Google stores everything or it stores nothing."
For instance, with the desktop tool, a user is able to specify the data to be indexed and stored on Google's servers.
Google might be able to introduce its online storage service on a smaller scale if the security measures are well highlighted, Sterling said.
"If it weren't for that aspect, this would be a very useful tool for many Internet users," he conceded.
Cisco Broadens IP Communication Coverage March 06, 2006
The Cisco Unified Communications System begins to fulfill a longstanding expectation of enterprise IT customers: "any device, anytime, any application, any network," according to IDC research director Shiv Bakhshi.
Related Stories
Growth Search: Google Shares Stabilize After CFO-Prompted Plunge March 01, 2006
Google CFO George Reyes has made comments that Google has sought to distance itself from in the past as well, saying late in 2004 that click fraud was a major threat to Google's business, author John Battelle told the E-Commerce Times. The search giant has since downplayed the risk of click fraud.
Google Extends Online Payment Options February 28, 2006
Even if Google does intend this service to compete with PayPal, the company needs to get buy-in from retailers in order to succeed. "That's been one of the most problematic parts for anyone who's in this alternative billing space," said Sucharita Mulpuru, senior analyst at Forrester Research.
Google Shares Hit by Report Citing Competition, Fraud Risks February 13, 2006
"Barron's has a reputation for hitting the darling of the moment in the groin, and this weekend that darling was Google," search expert and Google book author John Battelle told the E-Commerce Times.
Google Launches New Tools in Bid for Desktop Dominance February 10, 2006
Google's latest offering may be less a threat to Microsoft than to the concept of online privacy. Government entities are increasingly targeting information providers for data on their users. Once Google begins storing information from PCs on its servers, government interest is likely to become more intense -- and subsequent legal moves are bound to get more assertive.
Related News Alerts
More by Erika Morphy
Roku Channel Store Hangs Out Shingle November 23, 2009
Roku's new channel store is based on a "one screen in the cloud" business model, said Michael Gartenberg, vice president of strategy and analysis with Interpret. "Essentially, what they are doing is taking the TV set -- whether it is a standard appliance or a high-def monster -- and enhancing it with content the consumer wants to see."
Ballmer Gives Shareholders - and Dell - Cause for Optimism November 20, 2009
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer was all smiles at the company's shareholders meeting, as he touted the early success of Windows 7. Ballmer's cheer may have been contagious; after posting a massive earnings decline for the third quarter, Dell needed some good news to latch onto, and the prospect of broad enterprise adoption of Windows 7 could spur PC sales.
AA.com Sucks the Fun Out of Trip-Planning November 20, 2009
Using AA.com to book a flight was a painful experience. Densely packed, disorganized information was displayed in an unattractive format. On the plus side, it did seem as though the deals American Airlines advertised were real and not mere bait-and-switch lures. For anyone who wants a travel-planning Web site to inject a little pleasure into the experience, though, I say look elsewhere.
Headline Feeds
Talkback: 
