July 06, 2007 | Friday

Google Grandcentral

By Jon Myers, Director Of Search in News |Search Engines |Google |Microsoft |Search Technology

Ok so it has been a few days since Google acquired grand Central as a company, Google said at the time:

“We think GrandCentral’s technology fits well into Google’s efforts to provide services that enhance the collaborative exchange of information between our users. We’re really excited to welcome the GrandCentral team to Google. “

The idea behind the software is the technology allows users to manage all of their phone numbers through one interface and you have just one number that can be applied to ring all, or any of, the user’s phones.

So what’s it all about and what will Google look to do with its latest acquisition? There is talk of it putting pressure on Skype and Microsoft. There is a belief Google will put GrandCentral capabilities into areas such as Google Talk and make it accessible through Google Mail accounts. Google product manager Wesley Chan wrote on his company blog:

“GrandCentral is an innovative service that lets users integrate all of their existing phone numbers and voice mailboxes into one account, which can be accessed from the web.”

This shows Google looking to the future and understanding the needs to have a voice element as well. People will not just want email/messaging functions, they will be looking for more fully rounded communication outlets probably eventually going as far as video based communication.

This will definitely see Google going up against Microsoft who recently purchased ‘Tellme Networks’ as well as the likes of longstanding Skype.

It is also nice to see that Google has the branding on the Grandcentral site already!