The bbiggest issue that i raised at Google Wave was legal issue.
In todays world, when IT communication is the main medium and online communication can become your legal proof for different cases. Wave, failed at this particular fact, miserably. This was my biggest reason that it can never be a communication medium in professional environment. (the mentioned problem is just one example). you can edit any wave. it has no track record. The communication is stored “at central server rather on companies servers”. These are big concerns when you want to apply laws based on IT proofs.
Secondly, if i assume that there are no legal issues. The other biggest problem was “SMTP” protocol that was ruling the world from ages. Okay, I admit that its hard to accept change but at the same time, we gotta look at the fact that a change, which is being popped up by an Internet Giant “Google”, which has an “aim” of ruling the internet market. Would its competitors like Microsoft, Yahoo let the SMTP die and let Google rule the market? Though, the Wave was an open source platform but still it was aiming at Microsoft Outlook (one of the most used application).
Google might have done it in a better way, the way it is trying to out class microsoft outlook by Google Apps (Gmail) but all of sudden, such a big chance. Not possible.