Technology firm Dell has agreed to sell Google appliances directly to its customers.The move will enable consumers of Dell's products to choose between the Google Search Appliance - which is intended for larger organisations and will cost $30,000 - and the Google Mini, which at £1,995 is intended for small to medium-sized enterprises.
The Google Search Appliance provides firms with secure search across their enterprise's content, including intranets, portals, legacy applications and document management systems.
Meanwhile, the Google Mini, which works with over 220 different file types, including those associated with Microsoft Office and Adobe Illustrator, is designed to make search technology more affordable for smaller organisations.
Commenting on the deal, Terry Klein, vice president at Dell's Americas Advanced Solutions Group, stated: "Having the Google Search Appliance and Google Mini available from Dell bolsters our enterprise offerings and helps simplify the search engine process for our commercial and public customers.
"Google's turnkey search appliances align well with Dell's priority to simplify IT in the data centre."
Companies that purchase the appliances will be able to design their own interface that users will recognise from their familiarity with Google.com, without compromising their security requirements, Dell added in a company statement.
Darci Dutton-Reimund, head of channels North America at Google Enterprise, stated that the partnership with Dell is crucial for the search engine provider as it will help it to "deliver the best of Google business innovation to [its] rapidly growing customer base".
Founded in 1984, Dell focuses on selling computer systems and employs approximately 90,400 people around the world.
