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Hmmm
So we have an article praising the capabilities of Google for enterprise users??? by a higher-level administrator at one of GoogleApps??? partners. Points for disclosing it, but not too many.
As for the claims:
1. Customer support is extremely important, more so for enterprise than even for consumer users. However, since many tech companies offer 24/7 service, Google would have to show similar or superior levels of service. A single call, unfortunately, could be the exception rather than the rule. Call metrics from their support center would be more useful to compare to other companies.
2. Privacy issues are also extremely important. However, most enterprise users are not using Hotmail to meet their enterprise email needs. In fact, most enterprise users aren???t permitted to use the ???free??? email providers for business-related emails, simply because of data privacy issues. So, in this case, saying that Gmail is no worse than Hotmail is a point against its potential for enterprise use.
3. Seriously? There are numerous desktop applications in use in enterprise environments, which require either a manual installation at each desktop or a network ???push??? to install it from a single disc. No matter the method, however, the government cannot subpoena Microsoft, for example, to gain access to any records or files generated by the copies of Microsoft Office that your company purchased from Microsoft, because Microsoft doesn???t have that data stored anywhere. If the government wants your data, they have to subpoena you, not the software provider. The difference is, government subpoenas only carry weight in the country they???re issued in (i.e. it???s much harder for the Federal government to subpoena a bank located in the Cayman Islands, versus a bank located in Newark, NJ). More importantly, your company???s data could end up being picked up in a blanket subpoena of your cloud provider, simply because of ???guilt by association???; something that cannot happen if you aren???t using a cloud provider.
4. Actually, from previous blogs seen on this site, Google hasn???t just been pulling apps because of duplicated functionality, but also pulling apps that weren???t ???popular???. Which also illustrates another key difference between ???traditional??? and ???cloud??? software: with traditional software, even if the publisher goes out of business, let alone discontinues development and/or direct support for the software, you still have 100% use of the software. Sure, as new OS versions come out you start having a higher risk of the older app not being transferable, & you have to invest more of the corporation???s own time & assets providing in-house support for it, but if it meets your needs then you???re also not spending time & money constantly learning new apps. In contrast, when a cloud app is pulled, that???s it: no more functionality, & sometime no more data (unless you did local backups). The old app may have met your needs perfectly, but because the provider decided to remove it you???re now forced to spend time & money frantically scrambling for a replacement.
5. When you start at the bottom, your only options are to remain there or start climbing out. However, considering that despite their more recent changes, I think Yahoo Mail has a much better interface than Gmail, apparently Google isn???t using its ???greater experience??? as well as it should be.
6. Again, that???s pretty much standard for any company. This is like the reverse of the old Avis commercials, only Google is the one saying, ???We try hard???..
7. See #6 for general response. As for the specifics of the SLA, we would need to see it compared to other comparable SLAs for a true comparison.
8. So, in other words, a potential enterprise customer is going to say, ???You weren???t aiming your apps at us before; what has changed since then, & are the changes significant enough for me to take the time to even consider them now???? Just because Google has said they???re going to target enterprise users more in the future doesn???t mean a) that they???ll stick with that, or b) that they???ll be good at understanding the needs of enterprise users. They may end up just like all of the other software providers: developing a product the way they want to, then making the Marketing Department figure out how to convince the enterprise customers that what the customers want isn???t really what they want or need, but that they???ll want Google???s product instead.
9. There???s loyalty because the product truly is good, & then there???s blind loyalty: ???I???m buying a Ford/Chevy/Chrysler because my daddy only bought them???; ???I???ll only buy Macs because Steve Jobs was awesome, dude!???; ???I???ll only buy PCs with Intel CPUs because the higher cost must mean they???re better than AMD???; ???I???m going to jump off of this cliff because all of the other lemmings around me are doing it too!??? And let???s face it: a study from 5 years ago is showing Google???s support among consumer customers, not business customers. Maybe if the study was from 2010 or this year, then it might be more relevant.
10. Say, rather, that they???ve started to cater to business customers for some of their apps. However, this means they???re way behind, as their competitors have been developing apps for business customers for years now.
As for the claims:
1. Customer support is extremely important, more so for enterprise than even for consumer users. However, since many tech companies offer 24/7 service, Google would have to show similar or superior levels of service. A single call, unfortunately, could be the exception rather than the rule. Call metrics from their support center would be more useful to compare to other companies.
2. Privacy issues are also extremely important. However, most enterprise users are not using Hotmail to meet their enterprise email needs. In fact, most enterprise users aren???t permitted to use the ???free??? email providers for business-related emails, simply because of data privacy issues. So, in this case, saying that Gmail is no worse than Hotmail is a point against its potential for enterprise use.
3. Seriously? There are numerous desktop applications in use in enterprise environments, which require either a manual installation at each desktop or a network ???push??? to install it from a single disc. No matter the method, however, the government cannot subpoena Microsoft, for example, to gain access to any records or files generated by the copies of Microsoft Office that your company purchased from Microsoft, because Microsoft doesn???t have that data stored anywhere. If the government wants your data, they have to subpoena you, not the software provider. The difference is, government subpoenas only carry weight in the country they???re issued in (i.e. it???s much harder for the Federal government to subpoena a bank located in the Cayman Islands, versus a bank located in Newark, NJ). More importantly, your company???s data could end up being picked up in a blanket subpoena of your cloud provider, simply because of ???guilt by association???; something that cannot happen if you aren???t using a cloud provider.
4. Actually, from previous blogs seen on this site, Google hasn???t just been pulling apps because of duplicated functionality, but also pulling apps that weren???t ???popular???. Which also illustrates another key difference between ???traditional??? and ???cloud??? software: with traditional software, even if the publisher goes out of business, let alone discontinues development and/or direct support for the software, you still have 100% use of the software. Sure, as new OS versions come out you start having a higher risk of the older app not being transferable, & you have to invest more of the corporation???s own time & assets providing in-house support for it, but if it meets your needs then you???re also not spending time & money constantly learning new apps. In contrast, when a cloud app is pulled, that???s it: no more functionality, & sometime no more data (unless you did local backups). The old app may have met your needs perfectly, but because the provider decided to remove it you???re now forced to spend time & money frantically scrambling for a replacement.
5. When you start at the bottom, your only options are to remain there or start climbing out. However, considering that despite their more recent changes, I think Yahoo Mail has a much better interface than Gmail, apparently Google isn???t using its ???greater experience??? as well as it should be.
6. Again, that???s pretty much standard for any company. This is like the reverse of the old Avis commercials, only Google is the one saying, ???We try hard???..
7. See #6 for general response. As for the specifics of the SLA, we would need to see it compared to other comparable SLAs for a true comparison.
8. So, in other words, a potential enterprise customer is going to say, ???You weren???t aiming your apps at us before; what has changed since then, & are the changes significant enough for me to take the time to even consider them now???? Just because Google has said they???re going to target enterprise users more in the future doesn???t mean a) that they???ll stick with that, or b) that they???ll be good at understanding the needs of enterprise users. They may end up just like all of the other software providers: developing a product the way they want to, then making the Marketing Department figure out how to convince the enterprise customers that what the customers want isn???t really what they want or need, but that they???ll want Google???s product instead.
9. There???s loyalty because the product truly is good, & then there???s blind loyalty: ???I???m buying a Ford/Chevy/Chrysler because my daddy only bought them???; ???I???ll only buy Macs because Steve Jobs was awesome, dude!???; ???I???ll only buy PCs with Intel CPUs because the higher cost must mean they???re better than AMD???; ???I???m going to jump off of this cliff because all of the other lemmings around me are doing it too!??? And let???s face it: a study from 5 years ago is showing Google???s support among consumer customers, not business customers. Maybe if the study was from 2010 or this year, then it might be more relevant.
10. Say, rather, that they???ve started to cater to business customers for some of their apps. However, this means they???re way behind, as their competitors have been developing apps for business customers for years now.
Posted by spdragoo@...
22nd Dec 2011
