After co-founder Larry Page took over as CEO in April last year, Google began eliminating products that weren't core to its business or that had become obsolete, unpopular or redundant. More than 30 wares have been zapped.

At the top of this latest wave is Google Mini, which was launched in 2005 as a smaller, less expensive option to the Search Appliance.

The Mini, which like its more sophisticated cousin is a hardware box loaded with Google search software and designed to be installed on customer premises, will be discontinued as of July 31.

The Mini had "a good run," but its functionality is better provided by other enterprise search products like the Search Appliance and the cloud-hosted applications Site Search and Commerce Search, wrote Matt Eichner, general manager of Global Enterprise Search, .

"We will of course continue to provide technical support to Mini customers for the duration of their contracts, and will reach out to them shortly with more details," he wrote.