Archive for category: General

Tuesday Take-Away: Smart Distribution Lists

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One of the challenges many of our customers face is managing contacts and distribution lists.  Organizations want to share contact information to avoid duplicate and incorrect information, but need to control who manages the data.  Similarly, many organizations want to build distribution lists for communicating with contacts, but want each contact to only have one record.

For Google Apps, we work with several tools (i.e. Floreysoft) that help you build and share contact information and groups.

For Distribution Lists, Google Apps for Business (Government, and Education) includes Groups.  Originally built to provide secure discussion forums with optional moderation, Groups has evolved into a robust communication and collaboration tool.  Some of the key features in Groups that create smart distribution lists include:

  • Access Security: Control who can manage, view, and belong to the group in order to receive messages.  Access can be given to individuals outside your organization, a great advantage for project teams.
  • Use Security: Control who can use the group, ie send messages to the group, and whether or not the list can be used by email address only (group1@yourdomain.com) or via a web interface.   Access can range from specific individuals to fully public.
  • Delivery Options: Messages can be forward to members as they arrive or in daily or volume-based digest formats.  Users can elect to change this setting to meet their individual job and communication preferences.
  • Nesting: Groups can be members of other groups.  This lets companies create a distribution list hierarchy.  Place a person in the correct group, and they will receive all message for distribution lists “up the chain”.  Schools can easily create email lists for parents and students by class, and then roll them up into grade, school, and district level lists.

With these features, organizations have the ability to place contacts in distribution lists and maintain a single source for managing contact records.

Friday Thought: Chromebooks are NOT Netbooks

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It is pretty clear from the industry press that a consensus is building that the time for netbooks may have passed.  And when Dell, one of the big 3 PC makers, decides to end all netbook products, the industry takes note.

But when a technophile friend of mine lumped Chromebooks into this category, I had to disagree.  His argument that netbooks came out too early, before the customer was ready for the cloud.  And now, with tablets, smartphones, and other devices, the need is no longer there — you can get more for less elsewhere.

Chromebooks, however, are not netbooks.

Netbooks from Dell, HP, Acer, and others still carry the burden of traditional operating systems, albeit “customized” for a purpose.  So while the cost to buy the device was lower, businesses still needed to carry the full burden of supporting any PC-class device.  And users still expected to run ‘heavy’ apps like MS Office on these devices.  Less capable, less expensive to buy, just as expensive to run and support is not a formula for long term success.

Chromebooks are entirely different … here’s how:

  • Chromebooks run Chrome OS, the first commercial Operating System to be built specifically to support cloud computing environments.
  • Chrome OS is also the first commercial operating system to include encryption and malware protection in the kernel, eliminating need for two layers of third party software.
  • Chromebooks operate on the model that everything you need is in the cloud, that there is little or no need for any local data.
  • Chromebooks give you access to legacy desktop environments and applications not through local installs, but through terminal services, virtual desktop interfaces, and RDP services.
  • Chromebooks run with a near-zero footprint for its users; no need to manage software distribution, patches, and updates.
  • Chromebooks receive profiles and policies with each power up and user login, eliminating the need to create, manage, and distribute system images.

Most importantly, when you purchase Chromebooks, you are not buying hardware, you are buying a service.

Yes, you own your Chromebook devices, but they are one component of the service.  The service includes a management console that empowers organizations to manage user profiles, services, access, and add-ins.  The service also includes a replacement warranty of up to three years.  Chromebooks are as close to a “zero maintenance; zero administration” solution as you can get.

Netbooks give users a familiar, less capable (some might say ‘crappy’) system that still requires all of the administration and maintenance of a full blown PC.

Chromebooks give users a new platform with expanded capabilities, but without much of the expensive and burdensome overhead.

Netbooks may be on the way out; Chromebooks and the service model they bring to the market should be here for the long haul.

 

Tuesday Take-Away: Advanced Searching in Gmail

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As more people migrate to Google Apps and begin using the Gmail interface, they are often impressed with the scope and speed of the Gmail search bar.    Not surprising, since Google is sort of known for search.

But, did you know that just like on google.com, you can use advanced search operators in your Gmail search bar?  These operators let you focus your search with greater precision, without sacrificing speed.

Some of the advanced search operators we find most useful are:

Operator Definition Example(s)
from: Used to specify the sender Example: from:amy
Meaning: Messages from Amy
to: Used to specify a recipient Example: to:david
Meaning: All messages that were sent to David (by you or someone else)
label: Search for messages by label*
*There isn’t a search operator for unlabeled messages		 Example: from:amy label:friends
Meaning: Messages from Amy that have the label “friends” 

Example: from:david label:my-family
Meaning: Messages from David that have the label “My Family”
has:attachment Search for messages with an attachment Example: from:david has:attachment
Meaning: Messages from David that have an attachment
is:starred
is:unread
is:read		 Search for messages that are starred, unread or read Example: is:read is:starred from:David
Meaning: Messages from David that have been read and are marked with a star
after:
before:		 Search for messages sent during a certain period of time*
*Dates must be in yyyy/mm/dd format.		 Example: after:2004/04/16 before:2004/04/18
Meaning: Messages sent between April 16, 2004 and April 18, 2004.*
*More precisely: Messages sent after 12:00 AM (or 00:00) April 16, 2004 and before April 18, 2004.

 

You can review a full list of advanced search operators here.  You can also use these operators to create filters and manage email as message arrive.

Happy New Year: Looking Back and Forward

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At this time of year, we are often bombarded with “year in review” and “our prediction” articles, news stories, and specials.   As a change a pace, I thought I would take a look at how some past predictions have actually been on the mark.

This video, dating from October 1954, is a segment from GE that aired as part of a televised celebration of the Diamond Jubilee for the electric light.

The video predicts future technologies, including automatic dishwashers, VCRs, DVRs, cellphones, flat screen TVs, 3D TV, and more.

(Note: The video and audio start at 0:08)



Cumulus Global Launches Chromebook Services

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Boston, MA – December 12, 2011 – Cumulus Global announced a new suite of Chromebook services for schools, non-profits, businesses, and governments.  As a Authorized Chromebook Reseller, Cumulus Global is better able to help organizations integrate the low cost, maintenance free laptops into cloud and legacy computing environments.  In additional to selling the Chromebooks bundled with a powerful management console, Cumulus Global delivers the planning, implementation, migration, training, and support services that ensure a successful deployment.

“We see growing demand from schools, non-profits, and businesses that have stepped into cloud computing and see greater potential”, noted Allen Falcon, CEO of Cumulus Global.  “Both the WiFi and 3G-enabled Chromebooks provide one of the most cost-effective ways to put real computing power in the hands of students and teachers, employees, volunteers, and other cloud-connected users.”

Cumulus Global is partnering with other solution providers to help customers use Chromebooks for more than Google Apps and access to web-based applications.  Terminal services, Virtual Desktop, and tools like AccessNow and the Citrix Receiver for Chromebooks provide users with easy access to traditional desktop and client-server applications.

“With Chromebooks in play, we expect to see new growth in the use of Virtual Desktop Integration (VDI) services”, added Falcon. “The value proposition that many analysts have found missing with VDI services exists with Chromebooks.  The low entry price, built in 3G option, and policy push address the hardware cost, connectivity cost, and management costs head-on.”

Built for cloud connectivity, Chromebooks clear user data and policies after each user session.  Policies reload with each 10-second boot and user login, dramatically reducing the typical overhead in managing system images.

Cumulus Global has a limited number of demonstration systems currently available for loan and trial to school districts subscribed to Google Apps for Education.

For More Information, contact sales@Cumulus Global.com

Tuesday Take Away: Google Apps Caveats and Solutions

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One of the critiques we often hear when speaking with businesses and non-profits hesitant about a move to Google Apps is that Google Apps does not provide a complete computing environment.  And it appears that there are a couple of key factors behind this perception.

  • Many organizations may be able, but are not comfortable, moving from MS Office to Google Docs.
  • Google Apps provides a range of core and additional services, but does not provide a complete computing environment.
  • Google Apps needs to integrate with internal networks and systems.

The best part of these perceptions?  They are all TRUE!

Google Apps for business is a suite of applications and services.  It is not a complete IT infrastructure.  Knowing this, you can plan to overcome these “caveats” with solutions that work.

You Need Backup / Recovery

As we have written in several blog posts (Protect Your Data in the Cloud, DLP in Google Apps), Google protects you data in Google Apps from loss due to network, system, or software failures.  Google cannot, however, protect your data from you (and your users).

Just like your in-house systems, protect your data in Google Apps with a sound backup/recovery solution.  Costs for these services run $3 per user per month or less and are well worth the protection they provide.

Sharing Contacts & Address Books

While sharing contacts and managing a the Global Address Book in Exchange is no picnic, Google did drop the ball on this common business need.  Most businesses have groups of contacts that they want to share and manage across multiple individuals.  The cloud provides and easy structure to do this, but Google did not build an interface for the capability.

Fortunately, we work with a number of third party solutions with a variety of features and capabilities.  Better than a “one size fits all” solution, we can match the tool to each of our customers’ needs.  The costs for these options range from free to a few dollars per month per user.

Users Need to Learn

The last time your users had to re-learn their email and desktop software probably coincided with your most recent “fork lift upgrade” of your email and file servers.  Even then, how many of your users learned about new capabilities rather than focusing on relearning how to do the features they already used?

Unless you choose to run MS Outlook and miss out on many of the great features of Google Apps, your users will need to learn.  Even those with personal Gmail accounts benefit from fully understanding the capabilities of Google Apps for Business (Education / Government).

Google updates Google Apps constantly — every few weeks — with incremental features and capabilities.  Providing on-going learning to your users helps users evaluate and select the new features and capabilities that will benefit their work.

On-going webinars and office hours require coordination and costs can add up.  Integrated, self-paced training with modules that update as Google Apps changes costs less than $1 per user per month.

You Want or Need a File Service

Switching from your current email service to Google Apps and its business version of Gmail is a great first step.   The migration is relatively fast and painless, and users will be more productive.

Moving your shared files from in-house servers to the cloud, however, opens up many more opportunities for collaboration, efficiency, and cost savings.   Without the need to connect remote and mobile users to centralized file servers saves companies hundreds or thousands of dollars on VPN services and licenses.  The ability to share documents, manage changes, and control permissions, gives co-workers and project teams the ability to work together without “losing track” of changes and versions.

The challenge, is how to integrate your existing desktop applications with your cloud storage.  Fortunately, there are a range of tools that integrate applications and provide “drive letter access” (DLA) to the cloud.  The tools vary from one-time purchases to annual subscription services and can be easily matched to your needs.

Now for the Good News

We understand that when moving to the cloud, you want to make sure that the overall computing environment — your ecosystem — provides the same level of service, security, and reliability as your existing in-house solutions (if not better!).

Through the end of 2011, Cumulus Global is offering free trials and will waive our implementation fees for the value-add services that resolve these concerns.

  • Backupify for Google Apps Backup and Restore
  • Floreysoft Share Groups and Dito Directory for contact and address book sharing
  • Gladinet Desktops Professional Edition and other tools for DLA to Google Docs

 

Tuesday Take-Away: Expanded Support for Google Apps

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On Monday, Nov 14th, Google announced a significant expansion of its support services for Google Apps.

Google now provides 24 x 7 phone support to small, medium, and large Google Apps for Business customers for all issues affecting the core services.  Customers may also receive support from Google Apps experts via Google’s web-based support portal, online help forms, and online help center.

These services further augment and support the customized support, training, and related services offered by Cumulus Global and other Google Apps Authorized Resellers.

The expanded support services is one more in a continuing list of service and product enhancements designed to address business owners’ and IT directors’ concerns about moving to Google Apps and cloud computing.  Other recent changes include  SLA and up-time improvements, as well as enhancements such as unthreaded email and read receipts in Gmail, and a scheduled release process.

Tuesday Take-Away: A Google Apps Overview

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You are busy.  Spending an hour in a webinar to learn about cloud computing and why businesses are moving to Google Apps may work for you.

This 3 and 1/2 minute video, however, is a great introduction and overview.

 

Tuesday Take Away: 8 Ways that Clouds Beat Blizzards

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Once again, the team and I at Cumulus Global found ourselves working from our homes, pizza shops, libraries, and coffee shops.  An unusual and record-breaking October Nor’easter dumped about a foot of very heavy and wet snow on us, snapping power poles and trees like, well, twigs.  In our area of the state, most towns reported between 60% and 100% of residences and businesses without power.  Starting on Saturday evening, many will be without power until late Thursday or Friday.

Businesses tied to their physical offices, again, are learning the hard way how Cloud Computing can help keep things running when life throws the unexpected your way.

1) Message Continuity

If you run MS Exchange, Google Message Continuity not only provides you with bullet-proof spooling if your server or Internet link are down, you get Gmail’s web interface and the ability to send and receive emails.  And while most email contingency services dump all activity in your spool to your inbox (including sent message), GMC actually syncs your sent and saved messages, preserving your folders and your sanity.

2) Cloud Storage Mirror

Different than backing up for restores or recovery, synchronizing or mirroring local and network data to a cloud service gives you the ability to access and use your documents, usually through a web interface, from anywhere at anytime.  Matching the cloud service and the sync tool to your needs ensures your critical data is available even if your office is not.

3) Google Talk

With a laptop or smartphone, the Google Talk app, and an Internet connection anywhere, you can communicate with your team and your associates securely via instant messaging, voice conferencing, or video conferencing.  Don’t worry of phone lines or in-house PBXs are down, with Google Talk you can see who is available and converse at will.

4) Google Voice

Get your laptop to an Internet connection with a headset and microphone and you can send and receive calls without a fuss.

5) Hosted VoIP Phone Services

It may seem like the throw-back to the days of Centrex, but hosted VoIP (aka Hosted iPBX) services keep your phone lines working regardless of what is happening with your building.  And, you can access and use your lines, extensions, and voice mail from pretty much anyplace with either a VoIP phone, softphone software on your laptop, or your smartphone.

6) Cloud-Based Email

If you are thinking of using the cloud as a contingency service because cloud-based email is going to be available when your in-house system goes off-line, why not make the more reliable service the one you use every day?  Do you need or want to keep your in-house server when a cloud-based service will be more reliable and more available?  Ok, it’s a loaded question … but still worth some thought.

7) Cloud File Services

Just as with cloud-based email, Cloud File Services will prove more reliable and available over time, and especially during emergencies.  Granted, you may have applications, and work flow issues that make using cloud file services as your primary file service impractical.  But, you will never know if you don’t take a look. And, many of these requirements work with the right local sync technology in place.

8) Google Apps for Business / Government / Education

There, I finally said it.  Google Apps gives you the reliability and availability of the cloud-based Gmail, cloud storage you can mirror or sync, Google Talk, Google Voice integration, and a cloud file service.  Better yet, Google Apps rolls these services into an integrated, affordable package with access from most any computer and smartphone.  Some of the solutions may require third party components.  But, when disaster strikes (and disasters will strike), why not have an IT Ecosystem that is resilient to available rather than you you need to recover.

Life without Power at Cumulus Global

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Good Day,

Cumulus Global’s offices and many of our team members’ homes (like the majority ofhomes and businesses in our area) are without power due to the October blizzard.

Living in the cloud, however, we are working from libraries, relatives’ houses, and the occasional pizza place.   While are responses may be slightly delayed, we are up and running and here to serve your needs.

Regards,
Allen Falcon
CEO