Worx for them

In 2002, Google released the Google Search Appliance and the Google Mini on the American market. The announcement came today that the two server products will now be available for distribution locally in Australia. The Google Search Appliance and Google Mini will allow use of Google search technology across internal content, including file servers, databases, business applications, and Web sites. The Google Search Appliance is claimed to be capable of indexing up to 15 million documents. Pricing starts at just under US $75,000 for up to 500,000 documents.

Google Mini starts at approximately US $5,000 for up to 50,000 documents. Both deals include hardware, software and one year in support services. ChannelWorx will distribute Google Enterprise products in Australia and New Zealand and services provider BearingPoint has launched a search solutions practice for enterprise customers. Two hundred Australian companies are reportedly queuing up to evaluate the appliances, and the first unit of the product was sold this weekend. While the boxes run a modified version of Linux, only the source code for the modifications Google makes to the open source software will be released and not all of the appliance’s code. Along with this announcement, Google representatives also announced a refinement within the search appliance: the OneBox feature, which promises to allow employees access to real-time information from enterprise sources such as CRM, enterprise resource planning, and BI systems.

Giddy with what is certain to be yet another feather in Google’s bursting cap, BearingPoint managing director / partner Rob Hillard said that “Enterprise search with Google is a change of the same magnitude as going from the mainframe to desktop, or from the desktop to the web.” "Enterprises are using the same applications but changing the way they access the information," Hillard said, adding BearingPoint is investing in adapters to access information sitting in enterprise applications. Google is also partnering with software and software-as-a-service vendors to develop Google Search Appliance plug-ins for applications from Oracle, Microsoft Exchange, and Salesforce.com.