Enterprise unit takes over Google Earth, mapping products to integrate with search tools.
Google Inc.’s enterprise unit was recently entrusted with the business versions of the snazzy Google Earth mapping products; executives are already discussing ways to integrate them with the company’s enterprise search products, according to a Google executive.
Google acquired what are now known as the Google Earth products last year when the company bought Keyhole Corp. The most basic of those products, known as Google Earth, is a free downloadable mapping application with “multi-tera-byte” database of satellite images and a video-game type user interface that lets users "fly" around the globe, zipping from destination to destination, zooming in and out of cities.
There is definitely a lot of potential for integration between the Google Earth products and the Search Appliance and the Google Mini. We are starting to look at what might make sense, said Dave Girouard, general manager of the Google Enterprise unit.
Google Earth Plus, which costs $20, packs additional features such as the ability to import (GPS) Global Positioning System and spreadsheet data, to print in a higher resolution and to annotate maps. Like Google Earth, it is aimed at consumers. Google also uses Google Earth technology on its online mapping and local search services.
The two versions of the product that in recent weeks have been put under the guidance of Google’s enterprise unit are Google Earth Pro and Earth Enterprise.
Pro Version Offered
Google Earth Pro, priced at $400, has broader capabilities than Earth Plus for importing spreadsheet data and for printing in a higher resolution. It also adds the ability to measure areas and can be extended with a variety of optional modules, such as the "movie making" module.
Earth Pro is aimed at professionals in industries such as commercial and residential real estate, architecture, construction, engineering and insurance. Meanwhile, Google Earth Enterprise is a server-based version designed to support from hundreds to thousands of simultaneous users.
Google Earth Enterprise unit is still at a preliminary stage of discussions over ways to integrate Google Earth Pro and Google Earth Enterprise with its enterprise search wares Search Appliance and Google Mini, Girouard said.
But Google executives are convinced that building links between the Google Earth business products and the enterprise search devices makes absolute sense, even if the fruits of that integration are still way off. There are some fascinating possibilities in putting together geospatial [applications] and enterprise search, Girouard said.
High-End Offerings
The Google Search Appliance and the Google Mini are hardware boxes containing Google search software and are aimed at businesses that want to index and make searchable corporate information to employees, partners and clients.
The Search Appliance is costlier and more sophisticated, starting at $30,000, and can index data stored in a variety of server-based data repositories, such as intranets, public Web sites, relational databases, enterprise business applications, and content management software and legacy systems. Meanwhile, the Google Mini, priced at $2995, is for small and medium-size organizations that want to make searchable the information in their intranets or public Web sites.
Much of the potential for integration between the Google Earth business products and the Google Mini and Search Appliance will likely come from outside developers who take advantage of (APIs) application programming interfaces, Girouard said.
Google Maps, which uses Google Earth technology, has become a favorite playground for external developers, who have created many applications that tap into Google Maps using APIs.