Google is sending a message to the world. The search giant is pushing its own employees toward Mac OS X or Linux, according to a published report. In fact, Google allegedly is dropping internal use of Microsoft Windows because of security concerns. What’s the deal? Read on…
The alleged scoop comes from the UK’s Financial Times and the quotes are in the proverbial black and white. The Financial Times isn’t dropping names, but several “Google employees” are quoted.
Apparently, the impetus for the mass exodus (within Google) from the world of Windows happened in January 2010 after Google’s Chinese base was hacked. According to FT, a Google Employee said…
“We’re not doing any more Windows. It is a security effort,”
and another was noted saying…
“Many people have been moved away from [Windows] PCs, mostly towards Mac OS…”
What’s more, Google doesn’t “feel so good about” Windows, and since January, Windows installs were not allowed on desktops, but limited laptops were apparently being allowed. If you’re hell-bent on using a Windows machine, an anonymous Google employee noted you had to be on a senior level with a CIO approval.
Google employees stressed that Google wants to eventually run the entire company on their in-house software, including Google’s Chrome OS, which is now being positioned to compete with Windows. Employee’s reactions to the news allegedly caused a bit of an upset, but FT reports that employees would’ve been more upset if they took away the choice to use Macs instead.
The Analysis
So are those security concerns real? Yes, I think it’s legitimate, but it’s deeper than that. Assuming the Financial Times story is accurate, here’s some analysis.
- Most obvious: money. No more Windows licenses means less cash spent funding Microsoft and more cash in the Google vault. (Google has over 20,000 employees.)
- Running the entire company on in-house products (as previously mentioned). The advantage to this is that every employee (can potentially) become an evangelist for the platform that they use every day, and it helps deepen the development and user knowledge of the product they’re working on the first place.
- Google speaks out: Does this lend credence to the idea that Microsoft is becoming increasingly more irrelevant in a world dominated by Google, Apple and the web as a whole?
Of course, we do need to keep this story in proper context. Microsoft announced record Q3 revenues in April 2010. And much of that revenue momentum was tied to strong Windows 7 adoption — though perhaps not in the halls of Google.
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I dont buy the “security concern”, and shouldnt journalists either. Last 40 years have shown us that no OS is secure when the attacker is skilled and motivated into penetrating the system (let alone if there are users around, even skilled ones). Furthermore, MacOS and Linux do not have a 90% marketshare (http://www.netmarketshare.com/os-market-share.aspx?qprid=9) so they are “secure” because there is not enough people trying to attack them.
Google has an agenda behind the move, and the “explanation” is just a political machination. They dont want to sustain Microsoft buying licenses, fine; they want to promote Chrome OS, fine; but extrapolating “Does this lend credence to the idea that Microsoft is becoming increasingly more irrelevant in a world dominated by Google, Apple and the web as a whole?” is way too much.
Hi Federico,
I’m not personally extrapolating the idea that Microsoft is becoming more irrelevant, but I think that Google and Apple are the power and reason behind that subversive idea. I believe if you ask anyone who’s deeply invested in Apple or Google, they’ll plainly tell you that whatever Microsoft is doing doesn’t really matter to them.
But in relation to your ‘security’ issue — while I agree that — yes — no OS is completely secure, there is still security in obscurity. A non 90% market-share is exactly the kind of OS platform Google would want, especially when nearly everything they do is in the cloud anyway.
This is bizarre timing by Google. Why are they switching from Windows now when Chrome OS is supposed to be released in a few months? It doesn’t make sense to incur the expense of switching the whole company (about 20,000 employees) to Linux or Mac OS X now just to switch them to Chrome in the fall.
I think this move is telling—it could indicate that Google isn’t very confident in Chrome. And if Google doesn’t want to use their own product, why would I?
I find it interesting that google is moving away from using windows making the switch to Mac OS X. Not sure I agree with the security issue that are claiming either. North Austin Apartments
Sam@3: In The VAR Guy’s opinion, it would be difficult for Google to standardize its business on Chrome OS. Isn’t the OS designed for cloud apps? Surely, Google is going to need employees to use “some” on-premises personal productivity apps. Say, OpenOffice on a commercial Linux release (Red Hat? Ubuntu? Someone else?).
John@4: The VAR Guy wonders if Google’s “move” is really a long-term “transition.” As an old editor once told The VAR Guy: “Software Never Dies.” Years from now, The VAR Guy suspects you’ll still find some Windows systems in Google…
-TVG
I believe that all the basic at Google search is Linux and Linux and Mac is in family. Therefore I believe its done.
Like others I don’t believe of the security issue.
I heart from a newly Google employee, that she only got the choice between Linux and Mac and she chose Ubuntu 10.04, she was an earlier Windows user.
And above the cost benefit issue, I don’t believe, Mac are just as expensive as Windows.
i have been using windows my entire live, windows 7 is the best stable, secure, friendly, OS i ever worked on. MICROSOFT is the king, and will remain the KING….. Google please step aside and do your google stuff !!!!!
Microsoft is self-destructing anyway; they do not need Google’s help to ‘miss a cycle’ in mobile and substitute .NOT for DLL h(ll.
As for Google — They’re generating PR for Chrome while saving huge amounts of money at the same time.
To all those that are saying that Google is moving to Chrome OS internally:
Have you ever seen an IDE run as a cloud service? I haven’t either, and that’s because it isn’t practical. Chrome OS is a netbook OS, not a desktop OS and definitely not a workstation OS. Google will be using osx and existing linux distributions in house. Hopefully just Linux soon; Mac has its own security issues, latent in manifesting only due to its relative lack of use.