Lugo - Google Wallet

Google Wallet

The Motorola deal is the latest in a line of strategic acquisitions by the search giant. Here are a significant select few.

January 2011 - £6.1m - Fflick: Movie recommendation tool based on tweets, now part of YouTube
March 2011 - £37m - BeatThatQuote.com: Kentish Town-based price comparison system behind some of the country's biggest comparison websites
April 2011 - £15.3m - Pushlife: Mobile music streaming specialists, working to push music to Android platform
June 2011 - £250m - Admeld: Advertising optimisation firm enlisted to help publishers create "flexible advertising solutions"
July 2011 - Undisclosed - Fridge: First acquisition linked to Google+, Fridge specialise in group communications
July 2011 - Undisclosed - Dealmap: Location-tailored coupon service akin to massively successful Groupon
August 2011 - £7.7bn - Motorola Mobility: Mobile arm of communications giant Motorola

High-profile security breaches have increased public concern about the handling of personal information.

Google's planned purchase of Motorola's mobile phone division bolsters its position in two key ways.

Cloud computing is taking off on a massive scale, so what should companies look out for as they move their information technology into the cloud?