• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
TechFortune 500

Google Wants To Sell Businesses Big, Digital Whiteboards

By
Jonathan Vanian
Jonathan Vanian
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Jonathan Vanian
Jonathan Vanian
Down Arrow Button Icon
October 25, 2016, 12:00 PM ET
Google Jamboard
Google JamboardGoogle

Google has a new plan to win corporate customers, and it involves big, digital whiteboards that workers can write and scribble on like they would on old-fashioned whiteboards.

The search giant’s Google Cloud enterprise business unit said Tuesday that it created a 55-inch digital whiteboard called the Jamboard, which comes with two custom stylus pens, a digital eraser, a touch interface, a camera, Wi-Fi connection, speakers, and a 4K resolution.

Resembling a giant tablet device, the Jamboard will sell for $6,000 when it’s available to purchase in early 2017, alongside a wall-mount. A separate, moveable stand for the Jamboard will also be available in 2017, but Google (GOOG) did not say how much it would cost. Additionally models will also be sold at lower prices, but Google did not reveal those devices.

The Jamboard, powered by Google’s Android operating system, is Google’s first big enterprise hardware product to be released since former VMware (VMW) co-founder Diane Greene joined the company last fall to lead its cloud business unit.

Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s technology newsletter.

Google’s last big enterprise-focused business product it sold to customers was its Search Appliance, a hardware device created in 2002 that businesses could hook into their I.T. infrastructure to search for files and documents. In February, Google sent an email to some of its partners and resellers that it would discontinue the Search Appliance as it shifts to selling other cloud enterprise services, suggesting the product failed to resonate with business users.

The Jamboard is designed to work hand-in-hand with Google’s G Suite, its lineup of business-related apps formerly known as Google Apps for Work, including Docs, (word-processing), Sheets (spreadsheets), and Hangouts (online phone calls and text messaging). Customers must use the Chrome browser if they want to use the Jamboard to access the Internet and grab text or images to add to their digital whiteboard presentations. Plans are in the works to eventually have the device display video, said TJ Varghese, Google’s product manager of the Jamboard.

During a Monday press event in San Francisco, several Google executives demonstrated how workers could use the whiteboard for their meetings, even those in which employees may be in multiple locations, with the help of its Google Hangouts app integration.

Other employees who have Apple (AAPL) iOS or Android tablets can also hook up to the Jamboard and tinker with the board through their devices. As of now, there are no plans for Windows-powered devices, like the Surface Pro, to work with the Jamboard, said Google Cloud Vice President of Apps Prabhakar Raghavan.

Google Jamboard
Google

Microsoft also sells a similar digital whiteboard called the Surface Hub that shares many of Jamboard’s features, like a touch interface, microphones, and a stylus pen. The 55-inch Surface Hub sells for $9,000, while the 84-inch model sells for $22,000.

Google’s Jamboard also has the ability to recognize and clean up people’s handwriting and drawings, by straightening up their lines and circles after they are done scribbling. Users can turn on a feature that can recognize the words written and then convert those words into a computer font.

Still, the Jamboard is in its early days, and it lacks compatibility with current popular work productivity tools like chat app Slack and the cloud document service Box (BOX). Integrations with those enterprise apps will be coming “down the road,” said Varghese.

Additionally, Google created a proprietary file format called a Jam file that will be used to save a customer’s digital whiteboard creations, and can be archived on a customer’s Google Cloud storage account. Google did not say how big the Jam file is.

As of this time, Microsoft (MSFT) Office files like Word docs, Excel Spreadsheets, and Power Point files are not supported. Additionally, the CAD file, a popular file format used by architects, is also not supported. However, customers can export a Jam file to other popular formats, like PDF, so that unsupported products can still access the Jamboard files.

For more about Google, watch Fortune’s video:

“Our approach to this design is to keep it as simple as a whiteboard,” said Varghese.

The product manager said that undisclosed partners helped Google manufacturer the Jamboard, “but it is entirely a Google design.”

About the Author
By Jonathan Vanian
LinkedIn iconTwitter icon

Jonathan Vanian is a former Fortune reporter. He covered business technology, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, data privacy, and other topics.

See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Leadership
  • Success
  • Tech
  • Asia
  • Europe
  • Environment
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Health
  • Retail
  • Lifestyle
  • Politics
  • Newsletters
  • Magazine
  • Features
  • Commentary
  • Mpw
  • CEO Initiative
  • Conferences
  • Personal Finance
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Most Popular

placeholder alt text
North America
'I meant what I said in Davos': Carney says he really is planning a Canada split with the U.S. along with 12 new trade deals
By Rob Gillies and The Associated PressJanuary 28, 2026
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Politics
The American taxpayer spent nearly half a billion dollars deploying federal troops to U.S. cities in 2025, CBO finds
By Nick LichtenbergJanuary 28, 2026
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
C-Suite
Jeff Bezos capped his Amazon salary at $80,000: ‘How could I possibly need more incentive?’
By Sydney LakeJanuary 28, 2026
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
C-Suite
Fortune 500 CEOs are no longer giving employees an A for effort. Now they want proof of impact
By Claire ZillmanJanuary 28, 2026
3 days ago
placeholder alt text
Investing
Jerome Powell got a direct question about the U.S. ‘losing credibility’ and the soaring price of gold and silver. He punted
By Eva RoytburgJanuary 29, 2026
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Personal Finance
Current price of silver as of Thursday, January 29, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJanuary 29, 2026
1 day ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.


Latest in Tech

Gamestop
Big TechGameStop
Five years after the short squeeze, GameStop’s CEO is betting on a ‘genius or totally foolish’ $100 billion-plus acquisition
By Jake AngeloJanuary 30, 2026
52 minutes ago
C-SuitePharmaceutical Industry
‘We’ll save the world from cancer’: Inside Pfizer CEO’s $23 billion post‑COVID bet on oncology
By Nick LichtenbergJanuary 30, 2026
2 hours ago
Sam Altman speaking into a mic.
AIOpenAI
A reported OpenAI IPO later this year may test investor tolerance for the AI boom’s cash bonfire
By Beatrice NolanJanuary 30, 2026
3 hours ago
Former Google DeepMind researcher David Silver
AIGoogle DeepMind
Exclusive: Longtime Google DeepMind researcher David Silver leaves to found his own AI startup
By Jeremy KahnJanuary 30, 2026
6 hours ago
phone
Arts & EntertainmentSocial Media
Twenty-somethings discover nostalgia, throwing back to a carefree time before the ‘dark days’: 2016
By Pavan Mahal and The Associated PressJanuary 30, 2026
7 hours ago
taxi
Commentaryregulation
America’s AI regulatory patchwork is crushing startups and helping China
By James Richardson and Eric TanenblattJanuary 30, 2026
8 hours ago