Is Google Enterprise Search a joke?

Well that was the title of a recent ZDNet article - and there was one question in particular that Donna asked which caught my eye:

How Google will specifically be able to significantly grow Google Enterprise revenues, given the core products have 1) low price points and 2) no services income stream?

The reason this caught my eye is the manner in which they, Google, will foster an ecosystem? So what does that mean - well - how are they helping partners to grow businesses from their software and add value to customers on top of this software? The easiest place to start here is to ask the question of ourselves. How would you do this with MOSS 07 and where would partners go to generate there own wealth? Just selling another company's software is one thing but adding value on top of the platform is quite another. By innovating on top of the platform you generate value for customers and the vendor themselves - the outcome of that is complete synchrony between customer opportunities and application of resources to deliver solutions focusing on the customer. Without this opportunity for the partners and broad channel you simply wont be able to generate the value for partners to take your products into the market and deliver the value and solutions to the customers. In other words your channel strategy will fail.

For me that is why Google Enterprise Search could well be perceived as a joke - not because of the software per se but the manner in which one size has to fit all and the lack of attention paid to taking the products to market and the tremendous value the channel provides. In the Microsoft world the Microsoft Enterprise Search platform delivers a rich set of opportunities for partners. The key is to remember that not all customers want exactly the same experience and whilst this makes the role of the software manufacturer very tough - this makes the role of the channel key. Success lies with the organisation that not only makes the best software platform but also the best manner in which to engage and interact with partners to allow them to be an extension of the software vendors sales force - not only technically but also commercially.

In essence you cannot do it alone and to think so is misguided, this is why Microsoft place so much emphasis on our channel initiatives and programmes.

Enjoy!