He didn't say how it would be fixed, but removing the beta tag seems a likely option.

In its early days, Google launched new services such as Gmail and Google Maps at a rapid-fire pace. The beta tag provided a way to set expectations for service levels and remind users the applications were still being developed. It may even have added to their cachet, suggesting they were new and experimental.

"The term 'beta' as we know it in the software industry and the way it's being used by Google is not really the same type of use," Rochelle said.

"We’re selling these products, and we don’t treat them internally like they're a beta," he added. "It’s almost traditional" for Google to keep the beta tag on its products, he said.

But while Google has managed to upset many things in the software industry, it may not have changed the way businesses think of a beta.