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Tuesday Take-Away: File Service Strategies with Google Docs

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As more of our current and future customers move to the cloud, they have greater interest in moving beyond email, calendars, and chat.  More organizations see cloud file services as a way to improve access to information while simplifying IT infrastructure and lowering costs.  These organizations are right on the mark!

For those running Google Apps for Business, Education, or Government, the Google Docs service is a great foundation from which to build an integrated file service.  Here are some considerations and strategies.

Central Ownership

Every user has the ability to use Google Docs to store and share information, and to create a hierarchy of collections (just like folders) to organize and manage files.  When building a file service using Google Docs, you may want to consider central ownership of data that would normally be housed on shared space on a file server.

Central Ownership …

  • Puts all of the “file server” data under “Collections Shared with Me” in all users’ Google Docs screen, providing a consistent interface and experience.
  • Gives administrators control over permissions.
  • Avoids underlying document ownership issues.
  • Provides a central account for managing the amount of storage needed.
  • Further simplifies backup/recovery.

To setup central ownership of your file service, you will need to purchase or dedicate one account as the “file service” account.

Desktop Integration

While Google Docs is pretty good as a productivity suite, many of your users may want or need to continue using legacy desktop solutions.  The good news: you can store any file type in Google Docs; the bad news: opening up a browser to upload files is an intrusive extra step.

Fortunately, you can choose from several inexpensive third party solutions that provide desktop access to Google Docs.  When working with clients to pick the solution, we look to see if they need drive letter access (DLA) service and/or access via Network Places from Windows desktops and/or desktop drive access from Macs.  The solution we recommend will result from these needs and from the amount of local drive space available to cache online data.

Local Cache / Offline Access

By building a solution with a local cache, you can provide users with robust offline access to documents.  Additionally, a local cache lets desktop applications save locally, as they are designed to do, with the files synchronizing to Google Docs in the background.

Learn More

If you want to learn more about building a file server around Google Docs, please contact us directly, visit our web site, or join us for one of our upcoming events.


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.

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

Friday Thought: Maybe the Backup Should Be The Primary

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When Hurricane Irene seemed like a bigger threat to the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast, I started receiving emails with emergency contact information.  From non-profits I work with, organizations to which I belong, businesses I use, and event customers of Cumulus Global.  While some noted likely or planned closing, most were providing alternate means of communication “just in case” power outages caused their email server and phones to go down or be unreachable.

Every single one of these alternate emails ended in @gmail.com. Go figure!  When businesses and non-profits need an email service that will be available during the storm and that can be accessed from phones and tablets as easily as from computers, they turn to Gmail.

In-house email servers are susceptible to power outages, Internet downtime, and other local or regional crises.  Gmail is not.  Gmail runs redundantly across many geographically dispersed data centers.  And while it is easy to seamlessly connect your iPhone, Android, or Blackberry, all you really need is an Internet connection and a browser.

For all of the organizations that went out of their way to tell me about their backup email service, the backup service is more reliable and effective than their in-house system.   Why then wouldn’t they switch?

I’m not talking about Gmail, either.  I’m talking about businesses and non-profits moving to Google Apps for Business and Google Apps for Education, respectively.

For 501c3 non-profits and schools, Google Apps of Education is free.  You get better service and save money.  And, we can help you migrate your data and your team.  Other non-profits are eligible for discounts, contact me and find out more.

For businesses, our Google Apps for Business packages, with end user support, start at less than the equivalent of $10 per user per month.

Think of the benefits of having your email on the most reliable, most accessible communication and collaboration platform available.  Think of your piece of mind know that your organization, its employees, its customers, and its constituents will be able to communicate without jumping through hoops.

Migration is quick and painless.  Email or call us toll free (866-356-1202).  Let’s discuss how we can help you.

A New Look is Coming to Google Apps

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Over the next months, Google is rolling out a new look and feel across its products, including Google Apps services such as Gmail, Calendar, Docs, and Sites.

The new look is available in the following apps:

  • Gmail: Consumer, Rapid Release, and Scheduled Release users can preview through a special theme
  • Calendar: Consumer, Rapid Release, and Scheduled Release users can try out the new look
  • Documents List: Consumer and Rapid Release users can try out the new look

 

New Feature Thursday: Discussions in Google Docs

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Looking beyond basic comments within documents, Google Docs now features the ability to use comments for discussions with email integration.  Key aspects of this new feature include:

  • The ability to reply to comments written by others
  • Identity and ownership of all comments
  • The ability to resolve comments and discussions instead of deleting them.  You can review all discussions at any time.
  • Add somebody to a discussion thread using @mentions.  They get an email with your comment and a link so they can join in. Or, the individual can simply reply to the email
  • The ability to manage if and when you receive notifications for comments and discussions

Given the scope of the change, Discussions are only available for new documents.

For more information and a cool demo video, click here.

If you think this type of collaboration can help your business run more efficiently, please let us know.