Google Enterprise, Collaboration and Enterprise Mobility

I would invite anyone in an IT department buried in demand for mobile apps to first take a look at Google Enterprise http://www.google.com/enterprise/, before trying to develop everything yourself.  There are many mobile capabilities already available in the Google world which are free to individuals and available free or on a subscription basis for companies.  Here are a few of them:

• Google Drive - Keep all your files, documents, spreadsheets, videos, photos, everything digital in a free secure cloud.  Access from any mobile or desktop device. http://youtu.be/wKJ9KzGQq0w 
• Google+ - Strives to make sharing online, like sharing in person.  We at Cognizant have been using Google+ for many of our strategy groups and discussions.  I love it.  I use it for both work and personal.  I have specific "Circles" and "Communities" for work and personal.
• Google Hangouts - This is a very powerful solution that let's you video chat with your team no matter where in the world they are located.  Share documents, videos, screens, presentations all while in a free Hangout.   Learn more about them here: http://www.youtube.com/embed/3pmSWh2BQco?cc_load_policy=0&hl=en&cc_lang_pref=en&autoplay=1
• Google Hangouts On Air - Now broadcast your Hangouts -  I just recorded my first Google Hangout discussion with a group of mobility experts.  You can see it here http://youtu.be/GID7nRwhIIo, however, now you can broadcast Google Hangouts live through YouTube.  I will try that next.
• Google Apps - I have also been doing a lot of work lately in Google Apps.  I have been collaborating with others on documents, spreadsheets and presentations through Google Apps.  Here is what I am most impressed by - you can collaborate on the same document at the same time and see exactly who is editing, and what they are editing in real-time.  Plus, you can start a Google Hangout inside a document so you can video chat with those that are editing.  See an example here - http://www.google.com/enterprise/solutions.html. 
• Enterprise Controls - Google is rapidly adding enterprise controls to all of their solutions.  These enable you to integrate with enterprise LDAP (directories) and other things and control who is viewing particular documents and who is joining or able to join different "Circles" in Google Plus.  If you haven't read up on these enterprise controls in a while, it might be good to read this blog from Google - http://googleenterprise.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/bringing-google-to-work.html.

I am a mobility analyst among other things, so I am always looking at these apps with enterprise mobility in mind.  All of the solutions and features mentioned above are already mobile enabled.  They already run on my iPhone, MacBook Pro and iPad mini.  I don't have to build any apps to get all of these enterprise social and mobile capabilities!

I am also a SMAC Analyst (social, mobile, analytics and cloud), so when I wear that hat, I am interested in how these Google Enterprise solutions are all deeply social and collaboration enabled, mobile, include analytics and all reside in the cloud.

Many companies are years behind and slow to support emerging technologies like mobility, cloud and the social business technologies.  They assume they have to build everything or pay millions of dollars to get these features.  You don't.  They are available today and much of it is free.

In addition, most companies are made up of many small departments, committees, projects and groups.  These small organizations are often dynamic, shifting and often short-term.  They never get a budget to support their collaboration efforts and mobility needs.  Google Enterprise can go a long way toward supporting these kinds of efforts.  Just saying...

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Kevin Benedict, Head Analyst for Social, Mobile, Analytics and Cloud (SMAC) Cognizant

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Read the whitepaper on mobile, social, analytics and cloud strategies Don't Get SMACked

Learn about mobile strategies at MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com

Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict

Join the Linkedin Group Strategic Enterprise Mobility

Full Disclosure: These are my personal opinions. No company is silly enough to claim them. I am a mobility and SMAC analyst, consultant and writer. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.

Google Enterprise, Mobility and Business Transformation at Woolworths

In my research on companies that are transforming themselves by adopting an integrated SMAC (social, mobile, analytics and cloud) strategy, I came across a recent blog article by the CIO of Woolworths Limited, Dan Beecham.  I will share some excerpts from it here.

Woolworths is an Australian company that was founded in 1924 in Sydney. Today Woolworths has more than 3,000 stores across Australia and New Zealand that span food, liquor, petrol, general merchandise, home improvement and hotels.  Last fall I had the honor of being invited to teach a SMAC strategy session for Woolworths at their beautiful campus outside of Sydney.

This is what Beecham said about their strategy, “We’ve decided to move to Google Apps and Chrome. Changing to a cloud-based suite of tools is a key part of our strategy to use technology to promote greater collaboration, productivity and effectiveness.”

Collaboration is one of those themes that I have been hearing a lot about recently from CIOs.  Companies are recognizing they need to listen more to their frontline employees, remote and mobile workers and customers.  Frontline employees and customers are the closest people to the real-world.  If you are trying to be agile, nimble and responsive to changing markets and consumer behaviors, then you had better be listening to the feedback in these areas.

In today’s world speed is everything.  Knowing when new trends are emerging, new markets are forming and where there are problems in the supply chain or in customer service is crucial.  You also need to know the sentiment of your employees and customers if you want to respond quickly.  Enterprise collaboration and social media listening and engagement are absolutely required.

Here is more from Beecham, “Over the next 12 months we will be rolling out Gmail, Google Calendar and Google Talk to the 26,000 staff in our national and state offices. This is the first phase of what we hope will be a company-wide transformation of our workplace technology.”

Transformation is happening in the retail space.  It is coming like a tsunami whether you want it to or not.  It will not wait for the next budget cycle or the completion of your three-year plan.

Beecham continues, “The move to Google Apps and Chrome builds on the successful roll out of Gmail and our ‘Tap to Support’ App on iPads to Woolworths supermarket store managers last year. The custom-made application, built on Google App Engine, helps our managers stay on the shop floor and focused on customers by allowing them to log a support ticket with our national support office in just one click rather than being tied to a PC in the back office.”

This is an excellent example of how enterprise mobile apps can change the way business is done.  Store managers are untethered from their offices and desktop computers and can now manage their store and provide better customer service from the frontlines in retail, which is with the customers.

In this next excerpt Beecham lists the benefits of working collaboratively, using cloud-based apps and from any mobile device.  “Soon more of our staff will be able to experience the productive and collaborative benefits of being able to work from any device, anywhere. Geographically dispersed teams, like our merchandising or state based workers, will be able to use Docs to collaborate in real-time.”

In my conversations with CIOs, we are no longer simply talking about developing clever mobile apps to help with expense reports, time sheets and work orders.  Today, we are talking about innovation, business transformation, new business processes enabled my mobility and collaboration.

To read the complete blog article from Dan Beecham click here - http://googleenterprise.blogspot.com/2013/04/report-from-down-under-woolworths-goes.html

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Kevin Benedict, Head Analyst for Social, Mobile, Analytics and Cloud (SMAC) Cognizant

View Linkedin Profile

Read the whitepaper on mobile, social, analytics and cloud strategies Don't Get SMACked

Learn about mobile strategies at MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com

Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict

Join the Linkedin Group Strategic Enterprise Mobility

Full Disclosure: These are my personal opinions. No company is silly enough to claim them. I am a mobility and SMAC analyst, consultant and writer. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.

Google Enterprise Shows Us SMAC in the Real World

For readers not yet familiar with the acronym SMAC, it represents social, mobile, analytics and cloud.  In this short video, Google demonstrates, through Google Enterprise, how companies can implement a SMAC strategy to improve the following:

• Improve meetings and collaboration
• Work better with mobile and remote team members
• Speed up decision making
• Improve company meetings
• Better manage projects and share documents, presentations and spreadsheets
• Secure data
• Easily train new employees
• Rapidly create new collaboration sites for new projects and initiatives
• Reduce IT costs
• Stay focused on your core business
• Better support for mobile workers
• Access data and content on any internet connected mobile device
• More...

Video Link: http://youtu.be/vNJUL92y9wo

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Kevin Benedict, Head Analyst for Social, Mobile, Analytics and Cloud (SMAC) Cognizant

View Linkedin Profile

Read the whitepaper on mobile, social, analytics and cloud strategies Don't Get SMACked

Learn about mobile strategies at MobileEnterpriseStrategies.com

Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict

Join the Linkedin Group Strategic Enterprise Mobility

Full Disclosure: These are my personal opinions. No company is silly enough to claim them. I am a mobility and SMAC analyst, consultant and writer. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.