Google (GOOG) isn’t just be a consumer tech company anymore. Unnamed sources have told the Wall Street Journal that Google “generated around $1 billion from the sale of Google Apps and separate mapping software to businesses and governments” over the past year, signifying that Google has made significant progress in its push into the business technology market. The Journal notes that “more than five million businesses use Google Apps, though the vast majority have fewer than 10 users and thus use the free version” that Google has said it plans to drop. Needless to say, any incursion by Google into the business world is a direct shot across Microsoft’s (MSFT) bow, which might be one reason why Steve Ballmer and company have been ratcheting up the anti-Google rhetoric in recent marketing campaigns.

Prior to joining BGR as News Editor, Brad Reed spent five years covering the wireless industry for Network World. His first smartphone was a BlackBerry but he has since become a loyal Android user.