Bill Gates knew it was a matter of time before it was official, today, it’s official:
Google’s corporate tagline has become “Search, Ads and Apps,” reflecting a shift beyond search and advertising into online software applications, its chief executive said on Thursday.
Speaking to reporters at the company’s headquarters ahead of Google’s annual shareholder meeting, Chief Executive Eric Schmidt said his presentation to investors on Thursday afternoon would focus on the three parts of its business.
Google, the world’s dominant provider of Web search, is also the dominant provider of pay-per-click advertising, which contributes virtually all of its revenue.
The company’s nascent diversification into applications software has generated little revenue to date.
“The idea here is to talk about this shift to an online lifestyle,” Schmidt said of the company’s growing focus on delivering Web-based applications, not just search and ads.
“People are spending more and more time and Google can bring some of these new applications that really matter to them,” he said, highlighting Google Calendar, its group scheduling tool, as an example.
Read more. Everyone has an opinion, but the bottom line is that this is a very risky strategy. Pleasing online Joe is one thing, corporations want a lot more than Google Apps. This will be costly, messy and in all likelihood, a distraction to both MSFT and GOOG in different ways.
Does it spell an opportunity for Yahoo! Of course, but someone needs to wake them up from their slumber and tell them so.
Disclaimer: own shares in Yahoo!
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