Google rolls out Desktop Search for Enterprises

By Steve Malone

Posted on 18 May 2005 at 14:44

Google has extended its Desktop Search product to operate across company networks. Google Desktop Search for Enterprise looks and feels much the same as the standard desktop product but can be distributed and managed centrally and configured by a Windows administrator.

As with the standard desktop product, users are able to index content in a wide range of file formats including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, PDF, MP3, image, audio and video files. It can also index most of the popular email file formats including Outlook, Outlook Express, Netscape Mail, Mozilla Mail, Thunderbird and now Lotus Notes.

Enterprise Desktop Search can also index AOL instant messages although, strangely enough, it doesn't include the popular IM formats for Yahoo! and MSN.

The package can be used in conjunction with the two Google-in-a-box products used by companies for their own internal search functions.

For corporate intranet search, Google Desktop Search for Enterprise can be configured to provide an integrated search with Google Search Appliance or Google Mini providing one-stop searching across all corporate resources - such as desktop, the corporate intranet powered by Google Search Appliance or Google Mini, and the Internet via standard web based Google.

Among the other features Google lists are central control of a user features and preferences, the ability to encrypt user's data and search index files and easy deployment across the company desktops.

To assist corporations deploy Enterprise Desktop Search, Google offers a premium support package that can help with both installation and troubleshooting. Premium Support costs $10,000 a year for your first 1,000 users, and $10,000 a year for each additional 1,000 users.

For those who don't need the Premium service, Desktop Search for Enterprise is a free download and can be found at Google Desktop.