When you think of Google you think of the company, its brightly coloured logo and the great search results that it provides. You may also think about their very successful IPO last year especially if you were lucky enough to buy shares.

What most people don’t think about is the other Google services which are not really search. For example:

• Google Earth (Beta);
• G-Mail (Beta);
• Google News (Beta);
• Google IM (Beta);
• Google Print (Beta but on hold); and
• Blogger

Many of these services are currently in Beta and are not necessarily services that we would immediately associate with Google.

I challenge the belief and notion that Google is just a Search Engine. More and more, it is becoming a Software Company, similar to Microsoft or Oracle but not totally a software company. Google can not be a portal (like Yahoo!) because these services are not aggregated and available from a single point or portal if you prefer.

As these products emerge from Beta, the Google strategy will hopefully become evident and the bigger picture of what Google is (or rather, trying to become) should emerge.

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