Intranet Basics:

• What is an Intranet?
• Potential Intranet Costs
• Intranet Applications
• External Hosted Intranets
• Hosted Intranet Benefits
• Open Source Intranets
• Intranet Outsourcing
• Intranet Design Errors
• Administration Errors

Intranet Advanced:

• Securing Your Intranet
• Using Multiple Servers
• The Client-Server Model
• Promoting Your Intranet
• What is Intranet 2.0?
• Standardized Intranets

Intranet Tips:

• Creative Intranet Uses
• Saving Storage Costs
• Intranet Myths Debunked
• Using RSS on an Intranet
• Open Source Add-ons
• The GTD Concept

Intranets and Google:

• About Google’s Intranet
• Using Google Mini

Integrating Google Technology with Google Mini

We know how hard making a reliable search engine can be. But for an intranet that increases in size each coming month, a reliable search engine is what every intranet needs. Even the best navigation in the world would be useless with an intranet that indexes 300,000 documents. But for the Google Mini, it’s a walk in the park.

What Google Mini Can Do For You

Google claims that the Google Mini was actually developed with the intranet in mind. Buying their product will give you the same functionality that Google has; complete with suggestive words, error correction, related results, and much more.

The Google Mini isn’t limited to your intranet, however. You can use it on your organization’s website to give the search functionality to online users too. Take this for example: if a visitor is searching your website and can’t find what they need, they leave. If they are looking for a particular product or service, this could end up costing your company a lost sale. With the added functionality of relevant results from Google Mini, these shortcomings are defeated.

User Tracking and Statistics

As a new feature, Google Mini products will now come with several Google services such as Google Analytics. This will allow an administrator to track where traffic on the network is being routed, how the traffic is being shifted, and countless other details you could ever hope to learn about your network users.

Still yet, administrators can view search histories and trends. Pages with errors or broken links are also reported instantly. If you thought it couldn’t get better you were wrong - all of this is obtained with no required editing of your current documents; it works out of the box!

Your Very Own Google.com

The exciting thing about the Google Mini is that it automatically learns and adjusts based on user behavior. If more traffic is being directed towards a particular part of your company’s intranet, for example, the Google Mini will crawl that particular area more often in search of updates. In a sense, it is like you are obtaining your very own Google.

But everything isn’t set in stone - consider yourself your very own king of your very own Google kingdom. You can control nearly every aspect of how Google Mini functions as a search engine and tool. You may tell it to index certain pages only or perhaps put it on auto-pilot and watch it crawl your servers. In the end you decide where it crawls, how often, and how long - now if only we could control the real Googlebot!

What Does it Cost to Own Your Own Google?

Owning a slice of the Google pie is cheap from what Google claims, but perhaps not so by our own standards. The entry level Google Mini currently retails at around $2,000. The pricing scheme on the Google Mini revolves around the number of documents it will support. The entry level Mini can index an impressive 50,000 documents, while the $9,000 Google Mini can index a hefty 300,000 documents.

In terms of return on investment, Google claims the benefits are instant. Success stories are plentiful - everything from governments to universities is taking advantage of the Google Mini’s sheer power. Even large corporations such as AT&T are investing in the Google Mini.

Google Mini Alternatives

If you need something a little more durable and you have over $30,000 to spend, you may try out the Google Search Appliance. This alternative is much like the Google Mini, although it offers several extra features and can index an astounding 30 million documents.

The Google Search Appliance is favored by large businesses such as Xerox, Honeywell, British Airways, and Nextel. Clearly, everyone wants a piece of the Google functionality - and they aren’t afraid to spend the big bucks to obtain it.

Closing Comments

Google claims the Google Mini can be installed and configured in under an hour. It also features Plug and Play, so it is compatible with just about every system to date. The installation process is a breeze, considering the amount of functionality that is being added to your network.

Google Mini isn’t required to enjoy Google’s service. They run a service aptly named Google Free, which lets anyone add the Google search capability to their website. Obviously it will lack much of the features and scalability that the Google Mini offers. It is, however, a valid way to monetize a website and provide search functionality at the same time.

As far as competitors go we can’t see any in sight. If you need the killer search functionality that Google provides, all you need is a little startup cash. But don’t take our word for it; simply browse the long list of success stories Google so proudly links to on their sales pages.