2016 started with a punch in the gut from Google (note: that is not officially how Google's marketing department described it). The beloved Google Search Appliance was going the way of the Dodo.

But fear not, Google told us the cloud would save us. Their announcement implied a forthcoming replacement for the GSA that would run exclusively in the cloud. There would be no more on-premise search solutions made by Google. Everyone received this news calmly and was excited for the future of enterprise search in the cloud!

Not. As the dust settled, reactions were deeply divided. Some clients asked me where they could sign up for Google's cloud-based search engine before the digital announcement’s ink was dry. Others proclaimed "Never Cloud" and, I can only assume, put their heads back under the sand.