Lets play a game and imagine that we are in charge of Google strategy.
The diagram above is my stab. There are two principal axes, both of which Google has started on, but do not yet appear to form part of a core strategy. In other words, the Google appliance currently looks like a distraction and distinct business compared with the core search business in which the adwords service is the biggest initiative.
Continuing from the idea of Google beating Microsoft to desktop search, the vertical axis proceeds from Internet search to Unix server based intranet search, followed by Windows client desktop search and, lets say, a Symbian cellphone/PDA client. Components of each search, such as desktop email, and cellphone contacts, can be hosted by Google or combined for access from any machine anywhere via a thin client. Value added services such as sync and backup and security are offered.
On the horizontal axis there is a continuation of the web toolbar into more specific information types such as product search, combined with more filetypes to support intranet search etc. and eventually moving into a universal API that allows simple transactional search functionality to process queries like: ‘give me the value of my stock portfolio based upon a stock ticker search’.
The revenue streams then become: ad supported web search; software licenses; transaction based web services fees and subscription based remote hosted services.
The search box extends beyond the web to allow searching files that are located on any machine, from any machine and the search becomes not only aware of the content that is being searched, but triggers different results based upon the context.
A universal command line to access anything from anywhere.