Google CEO Talks Business

prostoalex writes "InformationWeek interviews Google CEO on Google's enterprise strategy. No cool products announcements or anything related to personal technology - Eric Schmidt talks about Google's offerings for the enterprise market."

Comments

what is /. for ??

[Virtual Karma]

No cool products announcements or anything...

Slashdot exist solely for this purpose ;)

Re:what is /. for ??

[PopeAlien]

Speak for yourself, I come here for the great business news but I stay for the cowboy neal jokes.

Re:what is /. for ??

[Anonymous Coward]

pfffftttt /. exist for many reasons.

Google luv
SCO & M$ bashing
roland pipquillle articles
gnome vs. kde flame wars
Best OS discussions

those are just a few

Hmmm...

[Sheepdot]

Let's imagine you're a CEO and you're running a sales force. How can you get your sales force to generate more revenue?

Tell them to call up CowboyNeal and ask them where the "Google Story for the Day" is and why it wasn't posted before 5:00pm EST.

Re:Hmmm...

[LiquidCoooled]

Be assured, there will be 3 dupes by morning as compensation.

But do they offer solutions?

[Anonymous Coward]

I am looking for solutions for my enterprise level e-synergy. Can Google help me actualize this?

Re:But do they offer solutions?

[Muhammar]

Do you have your vision fully conceptualized? Do you have defined clear go-nogo checkpoints on your flowchart to facilitate your decision-making process? You may need a consultant.

Re:But do they offer solutions?

[Shky]

How are those TPS reports coming along?

Re:But do they offer solutions?

[NanoGator]

"I am looking for solutions for my enterprise level e-synergy. Can Google help me actualize this?"

Bingo, sir.

Wrong, but thanks for playing.

[Pheersome]

Schmidt: Transparency is not necessarily the only way you achieve security. For example, part of the encryption algorithms are not typically made available to the open source community, because you don't want people discovering flaws in the encryption.
I hope he didn't really mean that; I had a fairly good opinion of him, but that statement is (IMO) a pretty serious misunderstanding of The Way Things Should Be. We (the security-loving Internet elite) want maximal transparency for all of our systems, cryptographic and otherwise, so problems are found and fixed... right?

Re:Wrong, but thanks for playing.

[putko]

There are different kinds of people in this world.

Some try to make sure that they don't say b.s. about things they don't understand. Others try to sound smart and then say something stupid.

It is a bit like a kid playing with nunchucks and hitting himself in the nuts. But at least then you know that you are not Bruce Lee.

This guy probably still thinks he understands cryptography.

Re:Wrong, but thanks for playing.

[Spezzer]

Sure, open algorithms such as RSA are typically better because of their scrutiny by the the world's best cryptographers. However, a bunch of the NSA's algorithms are good BECAUSE they are secret (to their best of their ability). Yes, it probably won't hold the test of time as well, but that's not to say they don't work.

I guess it's kind of analagous to 'security through obscurity.' Yeah, it's not the best way to do things, but it sometimes works well enough for some applications.

Who are Google?

[Timesprout]

I looked them up on MSN search I cant find anything about them. Why is Slashdot posting stories about piss ant little companies that no one has ever hear of?

My request to Google...

[bogaboga]

...is to synchronize the release of tools for major browsers including Firefox. That is, they (Google) should release their "add-ons" at once for all browsers. This is because if they for example released this for IE first, by the time that for Firefox is released, the steam is almost out.

Next, my request is to make sure they go for M$ and Yahoo head on. I need GoogleBiz (to check my stocks), I need GoogleMusic, GoogleRadio and all that is possible.

UW talk

[Mtn_Dewd]

Eric Schmidt is really busy on showing just how progressive Google is right now. I just got out of a talk at University of Washington by him in which he addressed many interesting Google policy questions ranging from responsibilities, censorship, and corporate structure. They're really trying to establish that they aren't just another fad and are trying to find a way to meet the demands of an exponentially increasing task of information aggregation and retrieval.

Interestingly, in our Computer Science department at UW, there is definitely an aura about Google. Everyone wants to work for them. They seem to defy all of the standard business models that we have grown to hate (ie: Office Space) and use a 70%, 20%, 10% rule that allows you to work on Google-related work, Personal-project-google-related work, and just personal work. I won't drag on about their structure, but I'm wondering if their business model and ideas will now spread into the mainstream corporate world.

Re:UW talk

[adpowers]

I was there. I found it interesting how shallow/flat their corporate hierarchy is. There aren't many levels between Sergey/Larry and the average employee. They don't try to micromanage employees, instead letting them just run with their work.

One impression I've gotten of Google compared to, say, Microsoft, is how quick they are to release new products. I've been to some Microsoft recruiting talks, and if I remember correctly, you have to interview to change product teams, and it seems like a cumbersome, bureaucratic process. At Google, you can help people with their 20% time projects and do work where you are interested. This allows them to get very rapid turn around on projects and this is probably a big reason why they are running circles around MSN.

Oh, another thing I remember. People on slashdot have wondered why they haven't put advertisements on Google News and some thought it was because they would get in trouble for making money off other people's content. Today Eric mentioned that the business model is mostly up to the team that develops it. As an example he gave: during a meeting, they had the option of either developing an advertising system for the news, or adding Afghanistan news. They decided to go after news in other countries before working on the advertising end. This is one reason why some of their projects don't seem to have any money-making goals. He said the Orkut team is too busy trying to get speed out of the system to work on some other things they might try.

Oh, I remembered something else :). It is kind of off topic, but I thought it was interesting. Apparently when they were rolling out Google Maps (or maybe it was the satellite data), they went on Yellow Alert because the traffic from mirroring the images across the world (I believe that is what he said) was filling up all their pipes. They were almost taken down, but they managed to get their traffic shaping back in line. Just an interesting tidbit. I'm sure the speech will be available on UWTV's website in a few months.

Andrew

Re:UW talk

[zerbot]

Hah, that's funny. When I went to the UW we had a "heterogenous environment" meaning we had systems from a number of different vendors. We were told it was so that students would be exposed to a wide variety of stuff they might work with in the outside world. Shortly after I graduated, Bill Gates donated a bunch of money to the UW, and all of a sudden they're ripping everything out and putting all Windoze boxes in, saying the new "homogenous environment" will be more consistent and less confusing for students. The students started developing a serious Microsoft-worship complex, everybody wanted to work there.

Must be galling to Bill that the students at "his" bought and paid for university now have Google-stars in their eyes.

Re:UW talk

[Anonymous Luddite]

>> For employees at google, which time fraction would reading slashdot come under?

With the number of google stories that get posted I think they're editing slashdot not reading it. I Like google as much as the next guy, use it daily... but ffs.

Enough with the gooogle stories. Give me something refreshing and insightful. Perhaps a submission by that a Roland P. guy that everyone loves?

just a thought...

Re:UW talk

[Momoru]

One impression I've gotten of Google compared to, say, Microsoft, is how quick they are to release new products

They "release" products that are in beta all the time. If your talking when the beta tag comes off, Google's software cycles are really long (The search was beta for like 5 years).

Also it's kind of apple's and oranges. It takes significantly more time to write an email client for Windows then it does to write a web mail client or many of Google's other programs. Google also can just "put something out there" on the web and see how people like it. Microsoft doesn't have that luxury since most of their products are software apps, not web apps. I also expect that because of the Web Accelerator debacle, Google will take a little more time to throughly vet things before putting them out there.

Re:UW talk

[fbg111]

There's also the free (large) cafeteria.

Specifically calculated by Google to cut the lost productivity costs of Google staff leaving the campus everyday for lunch. He said this in his graduation speech at University of Michigan.

3) Investor control. What investor control? The founders still control the majority voting block, and have ensured they will remain in control. One might as well just donate money to Google, because there's no accountability.

Who would you rather have calling the shots at Google, Brin and Page who have so far done a bang-up job, or a bunch of second-guessing, know-nothing, back-seat-driving, kick-back-giving, short-term-only-thinking, racketeering, conniving Wall St. llamas? Having lived in NYC and worked on Wall St., I vote the former anyday. There's no honest endeavor that Wall St. can do that good engineers can't do better and with more integrity.

When Google starts missing Wall St. numbers, expect perqs to vanish and layoffs to ensue. Also expect outsourcing to increase. Google will then be like every other public company.

Doubt it. Google already weathered the .com bust and recession of the early 2000s. They only hire the most highly educated people they can find, and only have about 1500 employees. Google isn't a company of application developers, it's a company of computer scientists. Further, one reason Larry & Sergei retained control of the company is so that they can prevent making short-term Wall St. numbers from ever becoming a priority at Google. They're in it for the long-term, which is good for long-term investors, the kind most companies would give their left nut to attract.

Re:UW talk

[fbg111]

And as for accountability, Sarbanes-Oxley ensures that any public company is financially accountable. My company is going through compliance right now, and documenting every single process, decision, deal, etc. that touches revenue in any way is a biatch. If you want accountability of strategy and business decisions, why don't you at least wait till Brin and Page make some big misjudgements before protesting as you are. Let's not kill the goose that's laying the golden egg, until or unless it's terminally ill at least.

Re:Google Strategy:

[big daddy kane]

What are you talking about TROLL???? Their motto is "Don't Be Evil" its not like any corporation goes against their motto!

Google turns Neocon with new Executive Hirings

[Anonymous Coward]

I submitted a story that slashdot hasn't chosen to post. Recently, Google has started filling their new executive hirings with Neocons from the Bush Administration.

Curiosly, there seems to be a lack of info on this in the American media and you need to go to foreign sources for the scoop.

Here's The Register's article on it: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/05/24/google_neo con

So much for "Don't be evil."

Google's newest executive that they hired was spotted jogging in Iraq wearing a Bush/Cheney '04 T-shirt, and is a key player from the Bush Administration. Is this an attempt by Google to get in good with the current US government, in a bid to get more enterprise Defense contracts?

Re:Google turns Neocon with new Executive Hirings

[bogie]

Well one hire isn't exactly a "trend".

About him, he is about as far right as it gets so automatically I of course hate him, but let's see where google is 5 years from now before you call what they are doing evil.

Not to excuse them for hiring someone "like him" but I'd be more suprised if they hird someone way left of center to be their "new Global Communications and Strategy VP". Its a right leaning time afterall and if anyone can grease the wheels for Google domination in both the us and aboard its a humanoid like him.

Re:Google turns Neocon with new Executive Hirings

[logic hack]

Who better to enlist the help of in the search for WMD's than Google.

The product *I* want to see...

[Anonymous Coward]

A Google GMail [TM] Appliance.

Being stuck using *shudder* Outlook at work makes me wish we had GMail mailboxes at work.

Even if I could invite everyone in the company to use GMail, I'm sure they don't want our company data in a server we don't even control. But if there were some GMail Appliance, not unlike their search appliance...

Oh well, who am I kidding? It's probably in the works already... I just need to convince the boss higher ups that Outlook sucks ass (not hard...) and one of those would be much nicer whenever Google finally gets them out of beta...

Re:The product *I* want to see...

[NanoGator]

"Being stuck using *shudder* Outlook at work makes me wish we had GMail mailboxes at work."

I wouldn't mind it, either. However, I'd miss my Todo list, notes, and some of the collaborative stuff Exchange offers with OL. Google has more work to do.

Re:Holding a Box

[burns210]

It is not anything new, I don't think.

Re:Gmail Lockdowns?!

[chrisd]

Have you considered filing a bug, putz?

Chris

Re:Google Strategy:

[conchobar0928]

I believe you meant to say, "Resistance is futile. You will be indexed."

Re:why do they get such good press

[zerbot]

They don't even have an effective monopoly. According to http://searchenginewatch.com/reports/article.php/2 156431 they only receive 48% of all searches.

The only part of that search that won't work is the wildcard. But you can use -site:florida.com to exclude a particular site. You can also do stuff like comment (ebay OR slashdot) site:com -site:florida.com

Eric Schmidt at University of Washington today

[imnoteddy]

/. readers might be interested in an mp3 of a talk given by Mr. Schmidt at the University of Washington today (26 May 2005).

http://videosrv14.cs.washington.edu/info/audio/mp3 /colloq/ESchmidt_050526.mp3

Probably more relevant to techies than TFA. Interestingly, ge stopped his prepared statement about halfway into his alloted 50 minutes to take questions.

Re:Gmail Lockdowns?!

[sabat]

Gee, Chris, do you think calling your customers "putz" is a good idea?