A Peak Behind the Scenes at Google
Ever wonder where the Internet “lives”? 
Curious about what the inside of a Google data
center looks like?
Google recently published a pictorial overview of their data center operations
Posts
Cumulus Global Publishes Google Accessibility Overview
As more businesses, schools, government offices, and non-profits move to cloud computing and Google Apps, user accessibility becomes and important part of the evaluation, selection, and implementation processes. To help organizations understand and plan for accessibility, Cumulus Global has published a Google Accessibility Overview report covering Google Apps, Chrome, and Chromebook / Chromebox devices.
“Accessibility goes beyond ADA and Section 508 compliance, it is about enabling individuals to work to their full potential,” notes Allen Falcon, CEO of Cumulus Global. “Our intent is to make it easier for organizations to understand how Google products and services fit with their accessibility needs.”
The report provides current information, along with links to all source materials so that readers may track updates and new capabilities over time. The report is available for free at: http://goo.gl/sfu66.
CFO Research Report: The Business Value of Cloud Computing
In May 2012, CFO Research conducted a survey among senior finance executives at large U.S. companies to examine their views on the business value of cloud computing, as well as their plans and priorities for adopting cloud-based systems in the years ahead. This report presents the findings from interviews with 310 financial executives across 15 industries.
Reading this report, you will learn:
- Key motivators driving the move to cloud computing
- How CFOs view the business advantages of cloud computing
- How real experiences with cloud computing compare with expectations
- Which factors CFOs see as the greatest barriers to cloud adoption
- The role of employee performance in cloud computing decisions
FUD! Who do YOU trust?
Fear! Uncertainty! Doubt! Every since Google announced that its Postini services — Google Message Security and Message Archive & Discovery were moving from an aging Postini infrastructure to the more secure, more robust Google Apps infrastructures, Postini customers have been hounded by competitors raising alarms about Postini going away and the need for a replacement.
We have already established that Postini is not going away in this blog post. Additionally we’ve pointed out that for the same pricing plan, Postini customers will gain integrated access to Google Docs, Sites, Talk, and other services (everything but Gmail, actually).
So if a vendor’s first contact with you is that Postini is going away, you know they are lying — or at least bending the truth to mislead you.
It is surprising how many people will listen to vendor claims, fail to validate them, and make decisions that impact their businesses.
Vendors use FUD because it works. It works because business owners and IT managers are busy and they want to believe there is a better mousetrap. But if a vendor is lying to you, why would you want to do business with them? If they mislead you to get your business, will they follow through on their promises of quality? savings? support?
With a modest amount of due diligence, businesses can save themselves newer, bigger headaches.
Postini is Moving, But Not Going Away
Earlier this month, Google announced a major change for users of Postini email security services, including the Google Message Security and Message Archive & Discovery Services. If you listen to the FUD (fear, uncertainty, and doubt) spewing from competitors, you would think that Google is about to abandon some its best customers.
Here are the facts:
- Google is moving Postini services from the legacy Postini data centers onto Google’s more advanced infrastructure.
- Before the migrations begin, Google is adding functionality to Google Apps’ spam and virus services that are not yet present:
- Policy-Based TLS Encryption is in the current Scheduled Release Track
- Daily Quarantine Summary messages and expanded blatant spam protection are planned
- Postini users will have the same features and services after the migration that they have today.
- The Postini Administration Console will be replaced by cPanel settings and modules that will simplify the interface and make management of the services more intuitive.
- Migrations will begin in the first quarter of 2013, starting with Google Message Security customers. Message Archive & Discovery services will migrate to Google Apps Vault. These migration will happen later.
- Google will publish a migration path for Google Message Encryption users in the near future.
- Pricing for services will remain the same.
- After the migration, Postini customers will have access to additional features, including Google Apps services other than Gmail. Message Archive & Discovery customers will be able to archive instant messages sent/received via Google Talk and, in the future, documents stored in Google Docs.
Our Analysis:
When Google migrated Google Apps customers running the embedded Postini services to the new spam/virus protection in Google Apps, customers did notice a difference. Most notable were differences in the scope of blatant spam filtering and the elimination of the daily quarantine summary.
For users of “stand-alone” Postini services, Google is filling in the functionality gaps and has committed to fully equivalent services. Beyond that, Google is providing Postini users with added features and benefits of Google’s infrastructure. Whether or not a company is interested in access to Google Docs and other services, the Google Apps infrastructure will provide greater performance and reliability.
Our Recommendation:
We recommend companies stay with Postini and go through the migration process. With comparable features and functions, access to additional services, and simplified management tools, companies should benefit from the changes. The scope and quality of services are worth waiting for and trying, before deciding if there is any need to look elsewhere.
Cumulus Global Becomes a Google Apps Premier SMB Reseller
Cumulus Global is now a Premier SMB Reseller for the Google Apps™ suite of communication and collaboration tools. This new designation from Google enables customers to more easily assess a reseller’s expertise advising on, deploying, and supporting Google products. Google moved Cumulus Global from an Authorized to a Premier Reseller based on the company’s expertise and success in helping small and mid-size customers deploy and use Google Apps.
“We are honored by Google’s recognition of our successful partnership”, stated Allen Falcon, CEO of Cumulus Global. “We look forward to continuing to serve the needs of small and mid-size businesses, non-profits, schools, and governments.”
Beyond reselling Google Apps for Business, Education, and Government, Cumulus Global offers a range of packaged and custom deployment, migration, education, and support services. Focusing on organizations with 1 to 1,000 users, Cumulus Global partners with customers to define and create solutions with respect to their unique technology, support, change management, and budgetary needs. Cumulus Global packages and integrates Google Apps with internal systems and third party applications to provide complete solutions that meet its customers’ business needs and budgets.
”Participation in the Google Apps Reseller Program is a centerpiece of our evolution as a cloud solutions provider,” added Falcon. “As a Google Apps Premier SMB Reseller, organizations interested in moving to the cloud will be better able to differentiate the skills and experience we will bring to the engagement.”
About the Google Apps Reseller Program
The Google Apps Reseller program includes companies globally that sell, service and customize Google Apps for Business for their customers. As a member of the Google Apps Reseller Program, Cumulus Global leverages training, support, and tools from Google to best serve the needs of its customers. Companies can learn more about Premier Reseller eligibility criteria and benefits by visiting the Google Reseller Program website at http://www.google.com/enterprise/resellers.
About Google Apps
Google Apps brings simple, powerful communication and collaboration tools to organizations of any size – all hosted by Google to streamline setup, minimize maintenance, and reduce IT costs. With Gmail (including Google email security, powered by Postini), Google Calendar, and integrated Instant Messaging, users can stay connected and work together with ease. And, using Google Docs and Google Sites, which include word processing, spreadsheet, presentation and website creation tools, they can share files and collaborate in real-time, keeping versions organized and available wherever and whenever users work.
About Cumulus Global
Cumulus Global (http://www.cumulusglobal.com), formerly Horizon Info Services, is a Google Apps Authorized Reseller helping small and mid-size businesses, non-profits, governments, and educational institutions thrive by delivering cloud computing solutions. Serving clients from 1 to more than 1,000 employees across numerous industries, we align technology with our clients’ goals, objectives, and bottom lines. We leverage our expertise, vendor relationships, and a diversified range of best-of-breed cloud services to create custom solutions with tangible value.
Google Apps and Google’s New Privacy Policy
The cloud world is buzzing as Google announced that effective March 1, 2012, it would consolidate more than 60 privacy policies for different services into a single, simplified policy covering all Google services. Not surprisingly, we are already fielding calls from our Google Apps for Business / Education / Government customers with questions about the impact of the change.
Rest easy. Here are the answers.
Not Much is Changing
The consolidated privacy policy is not changing how Google collects or uses information with individual services or across services. The policy is providing a simpler, easier to understand document that is consistent across all services. Google has also removed components of its existing privacy policies that are redundant with content in the Terms of Service policy for each service, which are also being updated and consolidated into a single, consistent policy.
Note that the Privacy Policy address how Google collects and uses information about individual users, but that the Terms of Service dictate how Google treats content you place or store using Google services. To understand how your information is protected, you must review both documents.
Public and Free Services versus Business / Education / Government Services
The new Terms of Service and Privacy Policy provide a baseline for all services. The Terms of Service clearly states that
“Also, in some of our Services, there are terms or settings that narrow the scope of our use of the content submitted in those Services.”
Google Apps for Business, for Education, and for Government all have these additional terms and settings.
Confidentiality in Google Apps for Business / Education / Government
The Terms of Service for Google Apps for Business, for Education, and for Government each define Confidential Information as follows:
“Confidential Information means information disclosed by a party to the other party under this Agreement that is marked as confidential or would normally be considered confidential under the circumstances. Customer Data is Customer’s Confidential Information.
Very simply, the agreement defines all user/customer content in these services as confidential.
The Terms of Service prevent Google from accessing or disclosing customer information without permission and guarantee a standard of care related the security, availability, and privacy of customer information.
Exceptions
There are exceptions when Google may disclose or publicly display Google Apps for Business / Education / Government customers.
- A User Marks Content as Public: If a user marks content as “public” or as “publish on the web”, the user is giving permission to Google and instructing Google to index the content in Google search engine and to make the content available to everyone publicly. Google Apps administrators can limit user permissions to prevent them from marking content as public.
- Required Disclosure: Per the Terms of Service, Google may “… disclose the other party’s Confidential Information when required by law but only after it, if legally permissible: (a) uses commercially reasonable efforts to notify the other party; and (b) gives the other party the chance to challenge the disclosure.”
Summary
While Google’s consolidation of privacy policies makes for great, sensational headlines, the reality is that their is no material change in how Google addresses information privacy. For Google Apps for Business, for Education, and for Government customers, there is no change what so ever.
Friday Thought: Roads Paved with Good Intentions
We have all hear the proverb about roads paved with good intentions. With all of the media attention on SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) and PIPA (Protect IP Act) this week, it appears that we may have a well-needed detour.
While the media is portraying the SOPA/PIPA battle and the site blackout protests as a battle between big Hollywood and big Silicon Valley. The reality is that SOPA and PIPA are bad for businesses and for small businesses in particular.
The intention behind SOPA and PIPA is good — stop online piracy of copywrited materials. And one could argue that the current process of requesting the removal of individual items is not sufficient. But SOPA and PIPA go too far in the other direction.
SOPA and PIPA give content holders, and the US Government, the right to shutdown entire sites and domains if they feel the site is improperly using intellectual property. The act also forces sites that provide hosting and storage for others to monitor content and prevent illegal use. Sounds like a good idea, but …
- SOPA and PIPA allow sites to be shutdown without due process, forcing an accused site to prove its innocence.
- Holding Google accountable for others’ YouTube content is like holding Verizon accountable for what you say over the phone. It’s absurd.
- Forcing hosting and cloud services to monitor and enforce will dramatically increase the cost of basic Internet services — from web hosting to email to file services.
- Services you use could be shut down due to the actions of others, and you will have no recourse.
- While the intention is to stop the big IP pirates, the laws apply to everyone. Your web site could be shutdown if somebody violates a copyright when posting a comment on your blog.
- The acts lack adequate protection from false accusations — unethical competitors can disrupt your business and bog you down in legal issues.
Beyond some of the big issues, both SOPA and PIPA present unnecessary risks to small and mid-size businesses. Join us in opposing bad legislation, even if the intention is good.
Friday Thought: Is Microsoft Afraid of a Fair Fight?
I do not condemn Microsoft for promoting its cloud services. Nor do I think they are wrong to compare their services to others, including those from Google. Watching their marketing efforts, I do wonder if Microsoft is afraid of a fair fight. Here is why …
In an effort to create viral support for Office365, Microsoft has produced several videos on YouTube. These videos, attempt a humorous comparison of Office365 to other services. This video, as an example, is making the rounds on IT discussion forums as it claims to compare Office365 and Google Apps.
Using Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt (or “FUD”) is a time honored sales technique, which can be quite effective. This video, however, is intentionally deceptive, comparing Office365 as a paid service against free versions of Gmail and Google Apps. Microsoft’s claims about ads are false when looking at Google Apps for Business, for Education, and for Government, and Microsoft knows this.
Why would Microsoft blur a comparison between Office365 and Google Apps?
Why would Microsoft shy away from a fair comparison?
Google Apps for Business costs less than comparable Office365 capabilities
Google Apps integrates with Office 2003/2007/2010 for added features
- Office365 requires Office 2010 licenses for full feature access
Google Apps has 1 pricing plan for each type of customer (business, government, education, non-profit)
- Office365 has 11 pricing plans spread over 2 types of licenses; you cannot switch license types once you start using the service
Google Apps customers always receive the latest updates and versions, with incremental, scheduled releases every few weeks
- Companies using Microsoft BPOS (based on Exchange & Sharepoint 2007) have no upgrade path to Office365 (based on Exchange & Sharepoint 2010), without starting over and a full data migration project
Google Apps is designed for 100% availability – 24 x 7 x 365 – and Achieved 99.984% Availability in 2010 (see here for more)
- Office365 still requires scheduled and emergency maintenance windows that interrupt service to users
- Less than 6 weeks after launch, Office365 had an Exchange outage effecting most users in North America for between 3 and 5 hours
- In August 2010, Microsoft’s BPOS service in North America had more than 40 hours of scheduled and unscheduled down time
Google Apps was designed from the ground up to be a secure, reliable, multi-tenant, service in which all users have access to the latest features.
- Office365 is a modified version of Microsoft’s “2010” generation of Exchange, Sharepoint, and other services
- The technology dates back more than 3 years in development and was originally designed for use as in-house, single-tenant, servers
- New features arrive months apart and only with service packs and upgrades
Looking at the current differences between Google Apps and Office365, I understand Microsoft’s marketing strategy. Do you?
Cumulus Global and Google Offer Webinar Series
WESTBOROUGH, MA – August 24, 2011 – Cumulus Global (www.cumulusglobal.com) is pleased to announce ”The Google Apps Difference”, a series of webinars discussing how better communication and collaboration capabilities can improve profitability for small and mid-size businesses. Hosted by Google and Cumulus Global, the webinars will present the perceptions and realities of moving to cloud computing for most organizations, and will explore the benefits beyond expected cost savings of moving to Google Apps for Business. While targeting businesses in the New England and New York region with 50 to 250 employees, the webinar will prove useful for most businesses and non-profit organizations.
“We are honored to be selected by Google to participate in this joint education and marketing program”, noted Allen Falcon, CEO of Cumulus Global. “Our selection reflects the expertise of our team, our relationship with Google, and the quality of service we offer our customers.”
The live webinars will be hosted by Falcon and members of the Google Enterprise team. To accommodate demand, the webinar will be repeated live at several times. The current schedule includes sessions on Tuesday August 30th at 10:00 am and 3:00 pm, and on Thursday September 1st at 3:00 pm. While planned for an hour, Cumulus and Google will stay on the line to answer any questions from attendees.
For more information, visit the News and Events page on the Cumulus Global website at: http://www.cumulusglobal.com/news-and-events.php.
About Cumulus Global
Cumulus Global, formerly Horizon Info Services, helps small and mid-size businesses, non-profits, governments, and educational institutions thrive by delivering cloud computing solutions. Serving clients from 1 to more than 1000 employees across numerous industries, we align technology with our clients’ goals, objectives, and bottom lines. We leverage our expertise, vendor relationships, and a diversified range of best-of-breed cloud services to create custom solutions with tangible value.
