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The IT Strategy That Makes Google Work

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the lots-of-gnomes dept.

savio13 writes "InfoWeek published an article on Google's IT Strategy, which can be summarized as: 'Use customized open source where possible, custom build where necessary , and buy if it's not related to something that will give Google a competitive advantage.' The author interviewed several senior IT folks at Google and the article is surprisingly thorough considering how closely Google guards information about their actual IT environment." From the article: "Google managers tend to be reticent on the subject of IT strategy, they're loath to talk about specific vendors or products, and they clam up when asked about their servers and data centers. But a day spent with some of the company's IT leaders reveals there's more to Google's IT operations than a search engine running on a massive server farm. Behind the seeming simplicity is a mash-up of internally developed software, made-to-order hardware, artificial intelligence, obsession with performance, and an unorthodox approach to people management."

6 of 112 comments (clear)

  1. Submitter forgot to include a relevant URL by xmas2003 · · Score: 5, Funny

    For those don't know the URL, you can find google here.

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    Hulk SMASH Celiac Disease
    1. Re:Submitter forgot to include a relevant URL by @madeus · · Score: 4, Funny

      Dammit, I was expecting that to be a link to be a single-page printable version of Google :(

    2. Re:Submitter forgot to include a relevant URL by xmas2003 · · Score: 4, Funny

      "Dammit, I was expecting that to be a link to be a single-page printable version of Google :("

      To obtain that, run the following command - $cat /dev/random | lpr
      And make sure it ALL prints out.

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      Hulk SMASH Celiac Disease
    3. Re:Submitter forgot to include a relevant URL by eln · · Score: 3, Funny

      Here

  2. Let's settle this once and for... by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 3, Funny

    ... and buy if it's not related to something that will give Google a competitive advantage.

    Are the network cables bought pre-made at fixed lengths or does an army of interns who spend the summer making cables instead of coding?

  3. Office stripping... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    From TFA:

    "Everything that's done privately is done publicly here," he says. (As if to make the point, Merrill took off his T-shirt during our photo shoot, showing off his tattoos.)

    Guess there had to be a downside to working at Google as well..