The label will also be removed from Google Docs, Google Calendar and Google Talk, said Matthew Glotzbach, director of product management for Google Enterprise. Google used the label to show it was still improving the software.
Removing the label lets Google target companies that have concerns about the reliability of programs that are in a test phase, Glotzbach said. Google, grappling with a slump in advertising spending, tries to sell more software to generate revenue outside of search-based ads. In the first quarter, the company had its first sequential sales drop since 2004.
“Ive had CIOs tell me that the beta label is a real problem for them because as a policy they dont deploy beta software to their enterprise,” Glotzbach said, referring to chief information officers.
Gmail has been in beta since it was introduced five years ago. Google products that have already dropped the label include the Chrome Web browser, unveiled in September. Google Scholar, which lets users search for scholarly papers, is in beta, as is its product search.
Google, owner of the worlds most popular search engine, fell $7.72 to $401.89 at 10:46 a.m. New York time on the Nasdaq Stock Market. The Mountain View, California-based companys shares had climbed 33 percent this year before today.
Googles business software provides more support and services than its consumer versions. The programs are accessed through the Web, just as its search engine is. A package that includes Gmail, calendar, spreadsheets, word processing and other services costs $50 a year per user for business customers.
Customers include Genentech Inc., a unit of pharmaceutical company Roche Holding AG, and Fairchild Semiconductor International Inc.