Inbound Thinking

With the recent release of Google Spreadsheets, and before that, Google Calendar, the search giant has unveiled a new focus. It would seem that Google is building an online alternative to Microsoft Office.

GMail not only matches the functionality of MS’s Outlook Express, but goes far beyond it. Take GMail and Google Calendar together and you have a completely portable mail and scheduling solution that embarasses Microsoft Outlook.

Now introduce Google Spreadsheets and there is a web-based, Excel-compatible spreadsheet application.

You can also count Google Pages in the group, as a replacement for Frontpage.

Add to these Googles acquisition of Writely earlier this year. Writely is an web-app word processor, and could be competitive with Micrsoft Word. When the Googleized version of Writely is released, they will have a complete online application suite. And best of all, its free.

I predict that at the time, or shortly after, the suite is completed, Google will offer premium versions of these services aimed at businesses. A virtual mail server via GMail; collaborative online document editing, management and hosting via Writely, Spreadsheet, and Pages; and widely accessible calendaring with Calendar.

Of course we must remember that Google is at heart a marketing company. They produce wonderful and useful technologies, but selling ads is what keeps them afloat. Therefore, look for a surge in targeted advertising.

First up will be Google Video Ads, relying on the video player technology already deployed in Google Video. The launch of Video earlier this year got many Google users to download the player, which will allow Google to serve up targeted video ads alongside search results or embedded within sites using AdWords.

Next, look for the Google Network, which will offer high-speed internet access free of charge, in exchange for viewing targeted ads. These ads may be persistent across your entire browsing session, offering links or videos relevant to the page you are browsing. I also believe that Google may be working closely with Mozilla Firefox to create a Google branded browser, which will have to be used in order to access the free Google Network. The roots of this network have been in place for more than a year while Google has been buying dark (unused) fiber laid across the US. Additionally, Google bid on providing a wireless network for the entirety of San Francisco, perhaps to be used as a trial run of being a service provider.

All-in-all, Google has been very busy and we will continue to see innovation and growth out of the previously search-focused company. Releases of Sketch-up, Google Earth, and Google Maps show some of the other areas Google has succeded in penetrating.