The abrupt departure of Google+ chief Vic Gundotra generated uncertainty and speculation about the social network product’s future. This includes questions about Google+’s place in the workplace Apps suite.
Even before the resignation, the company’s plans for Google+ in the enterprise were not at all clear. While Google makes it possible for Apps admins to turn on Google+ for their domain users, the social networking system is not a supported component of that email and collaboration suite.
While the number of Google+ users is unknown, it’s clearly not giving Facebook the run for its money that Google had hoped. Moreover, the upgrades that users expected have not appeared. Now that Google leaders seem to be jumping ship, perhaps Google+ is going to fade back into the Google platform.
While Google does a great job at some things, when they fail, it seems to be around getting into areas where others already have a commanding lead, such as social networking. If they are serious about Google+, they need to provide more clarity around the roadmap and the support from the Google core. If not, let’s move on.
