Google Apps
Google have moved into enterprise email and collaboration in a big way, making their proven Gmail and Google Docs platforms available for businesses to use. SCS is an authorised Google Apps reseller.
Firstly, let's look at email:
It has become more popular over recent years to site email servers outside of a company's mail offices. There are many good reasons for this, including:
- No need to maintain an on-site server.
- Much easier to cater for remote users or multi-site companies.
- Anti-spam and email anti-virus is often taken care of as part of a hosted solution.
- Less reliance on the company's Internet connection.
- More secure - the company network is protected from email-based attacks.
As well as the webmail interface familiar to so many (and the usual options of using POP3 or IMAP email clients such as Outlook Express or Thunderbird), Google Apps offers the ability to use Microsoft Outlook. This provides similar functionality to Hosted Exchange (see our Hosted Email page), but at a fraction of the cost.
- Mobile Access: Google Apps supports a variety of mobile devices, including any device that supports ActiveSync.
- Anti-Spam: Anyone who's used Gmail will know that Google have an excellent anti-spam system. This same system is available to all Google Apps users.
Google Apps can optionally be integrated with Postini - one of the industry standards in email security.
This solution is not suitable for everyone - it very much depends on your requirements, but we have deployed Google Apps to good effect with several of our clients. Plus there's the fact that Google is not a company that stands still - improvements and enhancements are being made all the time, so the service just keeps getting better!
But email is just the start!
Google Apps also offers a host of collaboration features. Users can access and edit documents, spreadsheets and presentations from anywhere there's an Internet connection. They can even collaborate with colleagues in real-time. Google documents have compatibility with other applications such as Microsoft Word and Excel, giving you maximum flexibility.
For companies that have remote users or a need for a central repository of information (such as a corporate intranet site) then this may be the solution for you. With Google Apps you can create your own company intranet website with ease, integrating it with other Apps features such as Docs and Calendar.
Sharing Calendars is easy. Through the Google Apps website you can grant people read or write permission to your calendar and view others calendars, overlayed on yours if you want. Plus you can embed your company calendar in your website to keep your customers aware of upcoming events. Shared calendars work in Outlook too!
Google are continuing to enhance Apps and make more features available. For instance you are now able to access more of your favourite Google websites from Apps (e.g. Maps, Talk and Reader).
