Google is quickly becoming known for its cloud-based apps and services among enterprise users. Before Google Apps, however, there was Google Search Appliance (GSA), a search product that allows companies to pull in results from databases or network shares on their intranets. With more and more companies using both products, Google is now trying to merge the two with its latest update to GSA, version 6.8.

With the update, GSA customers will now be able to search across on-premise and cloud-based content from the same place. So, for example, if your company wants you to be able to search a local database of sales information but also bring in relevant company e-mails from Gmail in Google Apps, you'll be able to do so without performing separate searches. Results from Google Docs and Google Sites will also show up alongside traditional results, and if admins want, they can even bring in other data from services like Twitter.

Perhaps even more useful is a new feature called People Search. The feature brings in a company contact list so that people who are related to your query will come up on the right hand side of the page if you need certain expertise or help with your project. According to Google, businesses can choose to index department info, interests, expertise, and even location to help make these results even more relevant.

These updates may seem relatively ho-hum upon first blush, but they are quite useful additions for those companies that depend upon GSA. Of course, Google hopes that the increased support for Google Apps and other online services will help bring in more customers, too, even if some businesses might shy away from putting Twitter results into the mix.