Everything at google is in beta, that way they dont have to actually support anything or be liable for problems or if they decide to suddenly pull the plug.
When I was in IT, I discovered that the rules for implementing beta systems were a lot looser and less paperwork prone than production systems. Also, nothing said anything about how long or large a beta test could be.
I converted half the company to a "beta" system before someone made me take it production. And then I was asked by the IT VP to rewrite the beta process. Dang...THAT was a lot of paperwork...
But we got done in six months what would have taken 3 years.
Probably didnt help that I bought one of those big 6' long LED signs and hung it in my department saying "Now serving xx, xxx customers on <product name>". I really didnt want anyone to be able to say I did the conversion in a sneaky manner. "We had a frickin SIGN up for cryin' out loud!"