Google Turbocharges Mini Search Appliance
The Google Mini is designed to connect to an enterprise network and provide secure search capabilities for employees hunting for documents, applications, and other corporate data. The Mini also can be interfaced with a public Web site so external visitors can find information more quickly in a collection of company-owned content.
New features in the Mini include letting site administrators link search results with a Google-created analytics application, created to provide more detailed information about how people use search on a Web site.
Another improvement comes in the form of the appliance's OneBox feature, which attempts to identify the intent of searches to create a digest of related data. Security also has been upgraded for the Mini, which for the first time will recognize established access settings for users and documents.
Google's push to bring the Mini to small and midsize businesses is not a new strategy. First introduced in 2005, the Mini underwent some changes in March 2006 in an attempt to make the appliance more attractive to smaller companies.
At that time, Google noted that SMBs tend to have tighter budgets and do not need the same type of high-powered search functions used by larger enterprises. These were realizations that led the firm to begin offering search appliance at lower prices and with different sets of features so users would not have to pay for features they did not want.
With the introduction of several versions of the Mini, the battle for search became a heated one indeed. The SMB market is an attracive one in particular, noted Yankee Group analyst Jennifer Simpson, where appliances are increasingly valued for their ease of use and quick...