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In case you hadn’t noticed, Google is on a tear in the enterprise software space.
Already a search-engine powerhouse with considerable momentum in the cloud computing space, Google last week released a plug-in for its Google Apps that allows Microsoft Outlook customers to utilize Google Apps while preserving their interface for Outlook. Using the plug-in, customers can import their e-mail, contacts and calendar entries to Google Apps.
It’s the latest example of how Google is going right after Microsoft’s enterprise customer base. On May 28, Google shifted the spotlight away from Microsoft’s Bing decision search engine announcement by revealing its own development efforts around Google Wave, an open source communications and collaboration tool that integrates e-mail, instant messaging, photos, video and other tools under a single hood. Wave, which is expected to be made available for public release later this year, will certainly compete against other communications and collaboration systems. Nonetheless, Google clearly has Microsoft SharePoint in its sights.
At a press event in San Francisco last week where it launched Google Apps Sync for Microsoft Outlook, company executives said they’ve amassed 1,75 million businesses as Google Apps customers.
There are several things working in Google’s favor when it comes to pitching Google Apps to would-be enterprise customers, not the least of which is the scalability of applications in the cloud without the inherent storage and processor limitations associated with premise-based software. Plus, upgrades are virtually real-time and don’t force IT shops to have to take down servers or disrupt operations for updates.
Google Apps isn’t a slam dunk for everyone. Enterprise customers that have invested heavily in SharePoint training and certifications aren’t quite ready to switch camps. Meanwhile, many enterprise CIOs aren’t yet willing to gamble on the cloud when it comes to ensuring the reliability and security of e-mail and other core applications. But dramatically lower end-user costs and continuous innovation are tough factors to overlook with enterprise software, especially in an economy where CEOs and CFOs are pushing everyone in the organization to lower their costs.
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