Google Dealmaking Reeks of Sanity

Here's a refreshing change from the trend of Internet giants spending way too much money on companies with questionable strategic value: Google has spent $625 million on Postini, whose email-security software has helped keep billions of spam emails out of customers' inboxes.

That news came a week after another shrewd deal on Google's part, its acquisition of Grand Central, the service, powered by voice-over-Internet protocol, that is sort of a Lord of the Rings for your telephone: One number to rule them all.

Google didn't disclose the value of the Grand Central deal, but word gets out, and right or wrong, the whispered price is $50 million. That would be less than $700 million for two of the most promising start-ups out there right now.

I've been using Grand Central for several months, and I think that if enough people take to it, it could become huge. You sign up for one phone number for life, and when someone dials it, it rings your home, office and/or mobile phones at your will. You can check voice messages remotely from its Web site. (Sign up soon if you want a phone number that spells something memorable).

Postini is less visible to consumers, but it's already made a mark, both in terms of industry awards and customer satisfaction surveys.

It's emerged as a leader in a market that has a robust future: filtering out emails sent from spammers or, even worse, that have some malware attached to them.