Close
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Applications
    • Applications
    • Networking

    Customers Compile Wish List for Google Apps

    By
    Clint Boulton
    -
    December 20, 2007
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin

      Google Apps Premier Edition is not even a year old, but the enterprise flavor of the company’s collaboration software suite is getting some rave reviews from customers along with a dash of constructive criticism.

      More than 2,000 businesses a day are signing up for Google Apps. Customers who want the extra security and support can pay $50 per user per year for GAPE (Google Apps Premier Edition), which was launched last February.

      GAPE includes typical collaboration tools, including a portal, e-mail, instant messaging and shared calendaring, among other tools.

      Rick Rutherford, president and founder of booking and accounting outsourcer CPApartner, said his company began using GAPE, including the Start Page portal, Gmail, Calendar, Docs and Spreadsheets, a year ago to collaborate.

      The 12-year-old company, which runs a tight ship of 25 employees, takes over accounting departments, collaborating on documents with Google Apps.

      CPApartner employees also keep their 100 or so clients in the loop via GAPE’s shared calendaring tools. Those clients don’t have to sign up for GAPE to get this service, they need only sign up for a free account to access Calendar.

      Google unveils Google Apps Premier Edition. Click here to read more.

      “I’m doing a spreadsheet right now and sharing it with somebody—we’re collaborating,” Rutherford told eWEEK during a phone briefing Dec. 18. “It works exceptionally well for the collaborative nature of our business.”

      Ironically, CPApartner made the switch to Google from using productivity software from another, albeit much larger company—Microsoft.

      Rutherford said he and his team were using Microsoft applications such as Outlook on servers that they had to maintain and manage. The whole process, Rutherford said, was “nowhere near as easy and efficient.”

      How much is Rutherford’s company saving by using GAPE? He said it’s hard to quantify, but estimated that the Microsoft products the hardware they ran on had cost thousands of dollars per user per year to run, license and maintain.

      Of course, no application is perfect and Rutherford said there is one key ingredient missing from GAPE that he would love to see added in 2008: a task management application to support his workflow.

      Shawn Faulkingham, IT director for commercial office product distributor Indoff, moved almost 500 staffers over to GAPE last February when Google launched the package.

      Next page: Customers: Google Apps Good But Can Get Better

      Faulkingham turned to Google after he realized the Microsoft Exchange 5.5 and Ipswitch Imail Server applications he had installed couldn’t handle the roughly 150,000 e-mails that made their way into employees’ inboxes.

      “We had to look around,” Faulkingham told eWEEK Dec. 19. “I was spending most of my time trying to push e-mail through.”

      Gmail did the trick. Not only did this solve the problem, but he was shocked at how easy migrating to Gmail was. Eventually, he said employees started using Google Docs to track projects, Spreadsheets and Google Calendar to keep everyone’s schedules in sync.

      However, he said Calendar is lacking a key feature he would like to see added in 2008: the ability to synchronize between Google’s Calendar and other calendar applications from Microsoft, IBM and Apple, among others.

      For example, he said that while he can send partners in a focus group an invitation from Calendar, they must be using Google Calendar to receive it. “Google should put some more protocols to Calendar to enable more back-and-forth synchronization,” he said.

      The pros and cons from Rutherford and Faulkingham were supported by Gartner analyst Tom Austin, who rattled off a number of improvements he believes Google needs to add, and eventually will add, to its GAPE suite in 2008.

      Read more here about Capgemini embracing GAPE.

      Austin said Google must fill two major holes in 2008; the ability to run Google Apps offline—without an Internet connection—and the ability to cleanly interoperate with any and all rival calendaring systems.

      Austin also expects Google to add wiki capabilities to Apps, courtesy of the company’s JotSpot assets; electronic forms; lightweight, ad-hoc workflow; task management; and activity management tools to identify a check list of steps associated with hiring a new employee. Google may even figure out a way to host Outlook as a complete client in Apps, he said.

      “Google sees the target of opportunity not in the IBM shops, which have a legacy of Notes and Domino applications, but in the Microsoft shops where Microsoft customers haven’t built the level of applications against the infrastructure because Microsoft always said you don’t really need it,” Austin told eWEEK Dec. 19.

      Until those needs are met, Austin said GAPE is not ready for full deployment in medium to large enterprises.

      Google Enterprise Vice President and General Manager Dave Girouard would no doubt beg to differ; the executive told eWEEK that Google will announce some large customer wins for GAPE in 2008.

      Check out eWEEK.com’s Messaging & Collaboration Center for more on IM and other collaboration technologies.

      Clint Boulton

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Big Data and Analytics

      Alteryx’s Suresh Vittal on the Democratization of...

      James Maguire - May 31, 2022 0
      I spoke with Suresh Vittal, Chief Product Officer at Alteryx, about the industry mega-shift toward making data analytics tools accessible to a company’s complete...
      Read more
      Cybersecurity

      Visa’s Michael Jabbara on Cybersecurity and Digital...

      James Maguire - May 17, 2022 0
      I spoke with Michael Jabbara, VP and Global Head of Fraud Services at Visa, about the cybersecurity technology used to ensure the safe transfer...
      Read more
      Applications

      Cisco’s Thimaya Subaiya on Customer Experience in...

      James Maguire - May 10, 2022 0
      I spoke with Thimaya Subaiya, SVP and GM of Global Customer Experience at Cisco, about the factors that create good customer experience – and...
      Read more
      Big Data and Analytics

      GoodData CEO Roman Stanek on Business Intelligence...

      James Maguire - May 4, 2022 0
      I spoke with Roman Stanek, CEO of GoodData, about business intelligence, data as a service, and the frustration that many executives have with data...
      Read more
      Cloud

      Yotascale CEO Asim Razzaq on Controlling Multicloud...

      James Maguire - May 5, 2022 0
      Asim Razzaq, CEO of Yotascale, provides guidance on understanding—and containing—the complex cost structure of multicloud computing. Among the topics we covered:  As you survey the...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2021 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×