????長(zhǎng)期以來(lái),，谷歌公司（Google）一直被指責(zé)在業(yè)務(wù)上缺乏重點(diǎn),，更有人質(zhì)疑谷歌對(duì)企業(yè)客戶并無(wú)誠(chéng)意。但是這家曾以搜索引擎著稱的公司堅(jiān)信,，它采取了一條正確無(wú)誤的道路——如果能為消費(fèi)者打造出色的工具,，企業(yè)客戶最終也會(huì)隨之而來(lái)——哪怕要花上好幾年的時(shí)間才能讓企業(yè)客戶動(dòng)心。

????上周，谷歌舉行了“谷奧”大會(huì)（Google I/O conference）,。會(huì)上，眾多驚人的技術(shù)成果紛紛亮相,，其中有一些引人矚目的產(chǎn)品升級(jí)和新產(chǎn)品,，公司宣布它們是專為企業(yè)用戶開(kāi)發(fā)的。首當(dāng)其沖的是谷歌計(jì)算引擎（Compute Engine）,，這是一種“基礎(chǔ)設(shè)施即服務(wù)”（IaaS）產(chǎn)品,，它能讓開(kāi)發(fā)者在谷歌的高性能服務(wù)器上運(yùn)行自己的應(yīng)用程序。谷歌還展示了一些更便于商業(yè)用戶使用的谷歌應(yīng)用升級(jí),，比如離線編輯文檔的功能,，以及可在蘋(píng)果iPhone和iPad上使用的Chrome瀏覽器。

????在目前的高科技競(jìng)技場(chǎng)上,，谷歌計(jì)算引擎可謂姍姍來(lái)遲,，但對(duì)谷歌來(lái)說(shuō)，這是順理成章,、合乎邏輯的一步,。之所以邁出這一步，原因和亞馬遜（Amazon）公司幾年前順勢(shì)推出云計(jì)算平臺(tái)的初衷幾乎如出一轍,。亞馬遜并未公布其云計(jì)算帶來(lái)的收入,，但據(jù)估算，去年這項(xiàng)業(yè)務(wù)貢獻(xiàn)的銷售額約為9.4億美元,。谷歌計(jì)算引擎并不僅僅是個(gè)富有潛力的掙錢(qián)機(jī)器,，就像亞馬遜早已擁有規(guī)模巨大的計(jì)算和存儲(chǔ)基礎(chǔ)設(shè)施一樣。它也是讓眾多開(kāi)發(fā)者融入自己團(tuán)隊(duì)的一條捷徑——這是用來(lái)和微軟（Microsoft）這樣的競(jìng)爭(zhēng)對(duì)手展開(kāi)角逐的十分寶貴的一招,。

????Chrome和谷歌應(yīng)用高級(jí)副總裁桑達(dá)?皮采伊對(duì)谷歌計(jì)算引擎的立場(chǎng)是：“對(duì)我們而言這是一個(gè)核心領(lǐng)域,，我們正對(duì)此進(jìn)行長(zhǎng)期深入的投資。我們著眼長(zhǎng)遠(yuǎn),?！?/p>

????皮采伊稱，谷歌對(duì)企業(yè)級(jí)市場(chǎng)所采用的舉措已經(jīng)歷了一次“進(jìn)化”,。谷歌的大多數(shù)產(chǎn)品在起步時(shí)都以消費(fèi)者為目標(biāo)人群,，但現(xiàn)在也擁有了一支致力于為企業(yè)客戶服務(wù)的銷售和市場(chǎng)營(yíng)銷團(tuán)隊(duì)。而在皮采伊看來(lái),，消費(fèi)者市場(chǎng)和企業(yè)市場(chǎng)之間的邊界正在日益變得模糊,。比如：安卓（Android）操作系統(tǒng)經(jīng)過(guò)了很長(zhǎng)時(shí)間才在消費(fèi)者中贏得了一席之地，隨后才獲得發(fā)展壯大,。但是現(xiàn)在谷歌發(fā)現(xiàn),，有跡象表明，許多企業(yè)也已經(jīng)開(kāi)始采用這一系統(tǒng)。

????這其實(shí)并不是什么全新的概念,。早在2004年,，在“消費(fèi)化”（consumerization）還沒(méi)成為流行詞匯之前，谷歌的Gmail就已經(jīng)開(kāi)始以僅通過(guò)邀請(qǐng)才能使用的電郵服務(wù)形式為消費(fèi)者提供服務(wù),。然后,，它慢慢地為企業(yè)所接受。像基因泰克公司（Genentech）這類大型公司是較早使用的客戶,，不過(guò)Gmail絕大多數(shù)企業(yè)用戶都是小公司,。谷歌稱，現(xiàn)在全美仍有500萬(wàn)家企業(yè)在使用Gmail,。當(dāng)然,，像很多谷歌產(chǎn)品一樣，一些成功打入企業(yè)的產(chǎn)品或服務(wù)最終也會(huì)鎩羽而歸,。谷歌表示,，自己正在對(duì)Chromebook進(jìn)行長(zhǎng)期投資。這值得慶賀,，因?yàn)榫退氵@一宏圖大志真的能夠?qū)崿F(xiàn),，這些輕型筆記本也要花上數(shù)年時(shí)間才能在企業(yè)用戶中真正扎下根來(lái)（而對(duì)企業(yè)用戶來(lái)說(shuō)，離線編輯的功能依然非常有限）,。

????盡管進(jìn)軍企業(yè)市場(chǎng)的構(gòu)想還算不上盡善盡美,，但谷歌確實(shí)鄭重其事地希望有所作為。而其闖入各種似乎互不相關(guān)的產(chǎn)品領(lǐng)域的一貫做法,，恰恰是谷歌企業(yè)文化和組織特性的典型體現(xiàn),，也與其搜索引擎的風(fēng)格一脈相承。那么,，谷歌為企業(yè)客戶開(kāi)發(fā)的下一代完全加密,、密碼保護(hù)的“眼鏡”會(huì)是什么樣呢？可能還得等上一陣子,。不過(guò),，等到水落石出那一天，人們也許并不會(huì)覺(jué)得太意外,。

????譯者：清遠(yuǎn)

????Google has long been criticized for a lack of focus, and some doubt its commitment to enterprise customers.But the company formerly known as a search engine believes that it's got the right approach -- build great consumer tools and corporate customers will eventually follow -- even if it takes years for its products to catch on in the workplace.

????Amidst all of the stunts and theatrics at last week's Google I/O conference, the company announced a handful of noteworthy upgrades and offerings geared toward enterprise customers. At the top of the list was the launch of Google Compute Engine, an infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) product that lets developers run their applications on Google's (GOOG) high-performance servers. The company also unveiled a few business-friendly upgrades to Google Apps, like the ability to edit documents offline, and the availability of the Chrome browser on Apple (AAPL) iPhones and iPads.

????Google's Compute Engine is late to the game, but it's a logical step for the company for the same reason that it made sense for Amazon (AMZN), an online retailer, to launch its cloud computing platform years ago. Amazon doesn't break out revenue from its remote computing services, but it's estimated to have contributed about $940 million in sales last year. And Google Compute isn't just a potential moneymaker for Google, which like Amazon already has massive computing and storage infrastructure in place. It's also a way to get developers on its team -- a valuable play for competing with other rivals like Microsoft (MSFT).

????"This is an area which is core to us, and we are making a deep, long investment here," Sundar Pinchai, senior VP for Chrome and Apps, says of Google Compute. "We think for the long haul."

????Pinchai says Google's approach to the enterprise market has gone through an "evolution." Most products still start out on the consumer side but Google now has a dedicated enterprise sales and marketing team. And, Pinchai argues, the lines are blurring between consumer and business. Case in point: Its Android operating system took time to grow among consumers. But now the company is starting to see signs of its acceptance in the workplace.

????This isn't an entirely new concept. Back in 2004, before "consumerization" was a buzzword, Google's Gmail started out as an invite-only email service for consumers. It then slowly made its way into the workplace. Large corporate customers like Genentech were early adopters, but the vast majority of Gmail customers are smaller businesses. Still, Google says five million businesses across the country now use it.

????Of course, like many Google products, some of the offerings that make it into the enterprise will flop. Google says it's making a long-term investment in Chromebooks. Good thing, because it will likely be years before these lightweight laptops gain any significant traction among businesses, if it ever happens at all. (Even with offline editing they still have very limited functionality for enterprise users.)

????But Google's attempt to enter the enterprise is serious, even if it isn't entirely polished. And the company's forays into seemingly unrelated products are almost as integral to its culture and identity as, well, its search engine. So what's next, a fully encrypted, password-protected version of Google Glass for the enterprise? Probably not anytime soon. Then again, it wouldn't be much of a surprise.