Google CIO: Have whatever technology you need to do your work - with an itemised bill attached

Self-service tech' stations enable staff to tool-up to do their jobs, says Ben Fried

Staff at internet giant Google can choose whatever computer hardware they need to do their jobs, and can even use self-service "tech stations" to use or borrow software, peripherals, or other hardware they may require for work, says Google CIO Ben Fried.

"Googlers can choose whether they want Macs, Chromebooks, Windows or Linux computers and we buy those computers and manage them for them," says Fried.

Furthermore, Google also makes peripherals freely available to staff via a "self-service tech station", says Fried. "If you need a new mouse, keyboard, USB hub or whatever, there's shelves with these things there," he says.

All staff need to do is to tap their badge and scan the item they want and take it.

"We do show every person the price tag that shows how much that the accessory costs to Google. The belief is that if we show you what it costs, you the user can make the best decision about what you need to get your work done and make the right decision on behalf of the company," adds Fried.

Furthermore, members of staff also receive a regular statement, itemising their "purchases" of such devices and peripherals, although they are also able to return them and have the items removed from their bills.

Staff can even return unused or unwanted software. "When we turned on the feature that allowed you to give back the licence for software and uninstall it from your computer, in the first hour that the service was available $400,000 worth of software was returned to the company," says Fried.

In the future, says Fried, it might also be possible for staff to borrow a tablet computer for a weekend or a week. This could be especially useful for staff developing mobile apps or simply involved in creating content that might need testing, say, on Opera Mobile running on Android.