Google takes further steps into enterprise functionality with Google Apps Sync for Microsoft Outlook, designed to integrate Microsoft Outlook with Google Apps Premier and Education editions. Google's other enterprise-friendly steps throughout 2009 have included Gmail offline functionality and full BlackBerry interoperability.
Google is
rolling out Google Apps Sync for Microsoft Outlook, which integrates
Microsoft Outlook into Google Apps Premier and Education editions. It marks yet
another step in Google's quest to expand its enterprise functionality.
Features in Google Apps Sync for Microsoft Outlook, which was announced
June 9, include synchronization between e-mail, calendar and contacts;
free/busy lookup and Global Address List functionality; and a two-click data
migration tool that allows employees to copy data from Exchange or Outlook into
Google Apps.
"Many business users prefer Gmail's interface and features to products
they've used in the past,"
Eric Orth, software engineer for the Google
Apps team, wrote in a June 9 corporate blog post. "But sometimes there are
people who just love Outlook. For them, we've developed Google Apps Sync for
Microsoft Outlook. It enables Outlook users to connect to Google Apps for
business e-mail, contacts and calendar."
Google has been aggressively moving into the enterprise throughout 2009. In
February, in a competitive bid against similar Microsoft and Yahoo products
that let users work with their applications offline, Google announced that its users could thenceforth
access Calendar for Google Apps and
Gmail without being connected to the Web. The offline calendar is available to users of Google Apps Standard, Premier
and Education editions.
The ability to work offline is designed to appeal to always-on-the-road
business travelers, who often find themselves in spaces such as airports that
could lack a reliable Web connection. Microsoft's Outlook client was an early player
in creating offline functionality for such users.
Google has also been negotiating over
potential
enterprise-level Gmail implementation for major companies such as Prudential.
Email
Print
