Gmail ‘Beta’ is Dead!

gmail beta is dead

It’s about time! As I hit my Gmail bookmark an hour ago to check my email messages, I was quite pleased to see a slight change in the Gmail logo – - the lack of “BETA” under the quite familiar Gmail text. As a project manager who has overseen several web application implementations, I was always unimpressed with how long Gmail kept the beta stamp on its popular email system. Considering that many startups remain in beta for only a few months, it’s quite surprising that Gmail – a large conglomerate with ample resources and user acceptance / feedback – maintained the beta label for almost five years. This is a great segue into what many startups in alpha or beta mode should consider:

1) How long should you be in beta? In my opinion, a startup should only be in beta as long as it takes to identify and rectify the most critical bugs. If your site or application works and performs the core functions you intend to deliver to the end-user, you should consider eliminating the ‘beta’ label. However, if you find that your system crashes or has inconsistent functional behavior, you should continue forward in beta.

2) Is beta bad? It depends. It is always wise to go into beta as a startup and ensure your product / service works. Users are fickle and will not tolerate lack of functionality, especially when its your core offering. However, if you intend on providing your service to a wider audience or to commercial customers, then it is in your best interest to eliminate the beta label. Most clients stereotype ‘beta’ to reflect instability. In my experience, I have never known a client to purchase a product or service that was in beta status. I think it is fair to say that Gmail was in beta for far longer than it actually needed to be and that it potentially lost commercial clients due to that label – consider Google Apps for businesses.

Wikipedia defines the term Beta quite well:  “Beta” is a nickname for software which has passed the alpha testing stage of development and has been released to users for software testing before its official release. It is the prototype of the software that is released to the public. Beta testing allows the software to undergo usability testing with users who provide feedback, so that any malfunctions these users find in the software can be reported to the developers and fixed. Beta software can be unstable and could cause crashes or data loss.

A “beta version” is the first version released outside the organization or community that develops the software, for the purpose of evaluation or real-world black/grey-box testing. The process of delivering a beta version to the users is called beta release. Beta level software generally includes all features, but may also include known issues and bugs of a less serious variety.

Based on that explanation, do you think Gmail waited too long to eliminate the beta label? Do you think it lost customers due to this label?