Google Apps: Will It Succeed?

For years, the de facto standards for e-mail, communication, and document creation within office environments have been Microsoft Exchange, Microsoft Office, and (in recent years) Sharepoint. Google has, since February 2006, been lightly treading into the territory of commercial and business communication and, with the Google Docs portion of Google Apps. However, when Google made the announcement on October 18, 2009 that it would be releasing Google Apps from beta, the world of office software and communication trembled.

Is Google Applications going to be an industry mover and shaker, as many people have predicted? Or will it be a mere nuisance for Microsoft?

A Brief History of Google Apps

Google Apps began in February 2006 under the name “Gmail For Your Domain.” It allowed users to use the popular Gmail service with domain names (for example, bob@emailserviceguide.com).

The software has come a long way since then. In the years since February 2006, Google has extended the features to include Calendar, Documents, and Talk (a chat client). This places its service offerings in direct competition with Microsoft Exchange Server and other similar services, such as GoDaddy and Yahoo! Small Business. Not only that, but Google now claims that over two million businesses use Google Apps.

Why Google Apps?

Now that Google Applications is out of beta, it has the potential to become a worthy competitor to Microsoft Exchange Server. Why would some companies choose to Google Apps as opposed to the aforementioned services?

There are several reasons:

• Many people find the Gmail interface with threaded conversations and labels to be much more intuitive and interactive than the Exchange Server interface. Google Apps, through the Gmail service it provides, uses the same interface with threads and labels.
• By using “Software-as-a-Service” (as with Salesforce, Google Apps, and 37signals’ Basecamp project management software), businesses can lower the costs of maintaining locally installed software.
• The expanding user base of Google Apps means that for companies wishing to be on the cutting edge of new industry standards, it may be wise to look to Google Apps.
• It’s free. This is a crucial key to Google Apps’ success. The fact that you can use Google Apps without paying a cent is critical. The other services, such as Microsoft Exchange, GoDaddy, and Yahoo! Small Business charge. Google only charges for the premier edition.

Challenges and Keys to Google Apps’ Success

The success of Google Applications depends on a few factors. First, Google needs to prove demonstrably and objectively that its recently publicized Gmail downtime will not lose businesses money in lost opportunity costs. If executives and managers have the perception that Gmail or Google Apps are susceptible to downtime in a way that will negatively affect their business operations, then the perception will win out over the reality, which is that Google Apps has a very admirable percentage uptime (Google claims 99.9%).

To combat this perception, Google has instated a service level agreement stating that if uptime does not match their high standards, then they will give free days of service.

The Future of Google Apps

The future of Google Apps remains to be seen. Will it become a giant killer, a true competitor to the ubiquitous Microsoft Exchange Server? Or will it be but a pinprick on the radar of the Microsoft behemoth?

All this remains to be seen. However, if Google’s past successes are to be considered, Microsoft has every reason to be frightened at the potential threat that Google Apps poses (In fact, they released Microsoft Office online in direct response to the threat Google Apps posed in offering Software-as-a-Service products). Whether or not Google Applications becomes an industry standard as Microsoft Exchange and Office has become is yet to be determined; it is clear, though, that if any software package is to threaten Microsoft Exchange Server and Microsoft Office, it is to be Google Apps.