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
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Case Study: Google Apps Supports Strategic Growth at Merrimack Mortgage Company
The Company
Founded in 1983, Merrimack Mortgage Company (MMC) continues to be a leader in residential mortgage lending throughout the Northeast and is one of the region’s largest independent mortgage bankers.
MMC prides itself for being the company that delivers the same products as the big lenders but with the high quality service levels inherent in a small lender. This winning combination of finesse and strength has led Merrimack Mortgage Company to its exceptional growth during the past three decades. The company’s success is attributed to its core strategy of providing a high level of customer satisfaction at a competitive price.
The Challenge
Merrimack Mortgage Company relies on extending its operations by expanding the size of the company’s geographic market area with new satellite branches. The IT department is challenged with bringing these loan officers located in satellite branches into the company’s processes effectively and quickly to allow them to be up and running as fast as possible.
The Solution
With integrated communications and file services, the transition to Google Apps was part of a strategic initiative to put the company in a competitive position to enable it to expand its operations effectively, from a primarily New England-based operation to cover their expansion outside of New England. This expansion included enabling a homogenous environment to all of the company’s loan officers while still complying with SOX, GLBA, ISO and other internal governance and audit requirements.
“The business side of me saw Google Apps as a slam dunk from a ROI and TCO perspective, and the technologist in me also couldn’t argue against introducing variable costs, scalability, availability, and OS and hardware independence. Cumulus Global recommended and helped us deploy CloudLock and Backupify for compliance, policy enforcement, risk mitigation, and data protection. This allowed us to fully embrace Google Apps and made both my Chief Compliance Officer and CFO very happy.”
— Matthew Seaton, CIO Merrimack Mortgage Company
Integrating Google Apps and CloudLock, Merrimack Mortgage Company extends its security perimeter to the cloud. MMC ensures its use of email, calendars, contacts, and files stored and shared via Google Drive comply with regulations like SOX, GLBA, ISO and other internal Acceptable Use Policies. Backupify protection data across Google Apps accounts against data damage or deletion due to user error.
“I am not sure if I would have felt confident with my decision to move our company’s communication and collaboration needs to Google Apps for Business without the solutions and assistance from Cumulus Global. The integrated solution has relieved my anxiety over having our company data hosted by a third party,” said Seaton. “Our management team was relieved by the value proposition. We pay as we grow rather than making large up-front capital investments.”
Since MMC’s initial Google Apps for Business implementation in June of 2011, MMC has increased sales staff by 15% and the number of physical locations by 26%. Operations staff increases have been minimal in comparison. The greatest benefit, in regards to increased sales staffing and locations, is the ability turn-up new team members literally in minutes. In more recent months, MMC has seen back-to-back monthly company record breaking sales numbers.
To learn more about Merrimack Mortgage Company, visit: www.merrimackmortgage.com.
The Video Service in Google Apps
OK, it is not really new. But, major changes are in the works. By the end of this year, Google Video for Business will be shut down with companies’ videos and the service capabilities moving to Google Drive.
Google Drive has many advantages over Google Video for Business. including:
- Uploading and streaming HD quality video
- Captions/subtitles in over 100 languages, and multiple tracks for each language
- The ability to embed a video on any page
- Advanced sharing controls, including the ability to prevent viewers from downloading the video
- SSL streaming for secure watching of videos
- User comments on the video page
- API access to manage videos
Migrated Google Video for Business video files will not count against the user’s Google Drive storage quota (new videos will), and all links to them will be automatically redirected to Google Drive. As the migration happens, videos will be stored in a folder named “Google Video for Business.”
Best Practices
While migrated videos will not count towards Drive storage quotas, future videos will. Uploaded videos go through the same processing and compression as they did with the Video for Business service (a 30 minute video we uploaded uses only 28K), organizations that heavily use video may want to setup an additional user account to serve as the owner of videos. By creating a central account, managing additional storage, when needed, becomes easier.
More Information
For more information, feel free to contact us. Google has also published a nice help article on the subject.
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
Chromebook Solutions Featured at Google Apps for Education Summit
Cumulus Global (www.cumulusglobal.com) announced that the company is sponsoring the Google Apps for Education New England Summit, being held this weekend at Burlington High School in Burlington, MA. As part of the company’s participation, Cumulus Global CEO Allen Falcon will conduct a workshop entitled, Google Apps and Chromebooks: Building a Successful 1:1 Program, that will discuss the many facets of planning and management a one-to-one Chromebook program.
“As with any educational technology plan, deploying Chromebooks to individual students requires planning beyond device selection,” stated Allen Falcon, CEO of Cumulus Global. “In the session, we will discuss many facets of successful 1:1 programs that impact teachers, administrators, and students.”
Google Apps and Chromebooks: Building a Successful 1:1 Program will discuss device selection, device management, curriculum integration, professional development, and expanded use of Google Apps. The session will also discuss budgetary and financial options.
More information about the Google Apps for Education New England Summit is available at http://ma.gafesummit.com/, by following #gafesummit on Twitter and Google Apps for Education Summits on Google+
Cumulus Global offers Emergency Email and File Services to Businesses
Cumulus Global (www.cumulusglobal.com) announced an emergency assistance program for small and mid-size businesses impacted by Hurricane Sandy. Cumulus Global will provision replacement email and file services to help get businesses up and running. As part of the program, companies will paid reduced activation fees and will contract for services on a month-to-month basis. Businesses can be up and running, back in business, in a matter of hours.
“Small and mid-size businesses are the backbone of our economy and are often the hardest hit by natural disasters,” stated Allen Falcon, CEO of Cumulus Global. “This program is not about making money, it is about saving businesses and jobs.”
Leveraging Google Apps, Cumulus Global can have businesses up and running with email, voice/video conferencing, file services, and more in a matter of hours.
Companies in any of the states impacted by Hurricane Sandy or its aftermath are eligible for 30% discounts on activation and service fees. Services start at $10 per month and run on a month-to-month basis with no long term contract.
Businesses interested in the program should contact sales@cumulusglobal.com immediately.
New Compose Window Adds Sophistication to Gmail
Google’s new compose window makes it easier to reference and manage multiple emails at once, with a new overlay window and simplified user screen.
Check out this helpful video.
Cumulus Global in the News: Helping Google Apps Resellers Grow Their Businesses
Cumulus Global is sponsoring, and helping organize, this year’s gSocial Conference for Google Apps Resellers, ISVs, and consultants. As covered by Bloomberg.com, PR Newswire, and others, gSocial 2012 is the independent conference for the Google Apps channel.
Scheduled for November 12th and 13th, 2012 at the Domain Hotel in Sunnyvale, the conference features over a dozen keynote, plenary, and workshop sessions.
More information is available at www.gsocialconference.com.
Where is Your Cloud Bandwidth Bottleneck?
When speaking with companies and schools about moving to cloud solutions like Google Apps and Google Cloud Storage, we are often asked about bandwidth demands. Many organizations worry that their current Internet connections are not sufficient for cloud computing. While most organizations already have more than enough Internet bandwidth, they may still have performance bottlenecks from their internal network.
Many small and mid-size enterprises make infrastructure decisions, electing to save money with consumer grade and so-called “SMB” products. In many instances, these products are not designed to handle business traffic.
WiFi Access Points: Low-end WiFi Access Points, or WAPs, are not designed for a large number, or large traffic, connections. While these devices claim they can support dozens of devices, the reality is that their antennae systems, channel management, and software are not up to the task. These devices can bog down with collisions, reducing the effective bandwidth to near zero with as few as 5 or 10 active users.
Switches and Hubs: The same load considerations exist for low-end switches and hubs, particularly those with slower back-planes and less memory. Traffic bursts can overload these devices, creating “collisions” that slow down your network.
Routers: Many entry level and SMB routers do not have the processor or back-plane speed needed to meet the traffic demands for today’s network. The router between your network and the Internet needs to be fast, with the ability to buffer traffic, and provide network services. While changing to cloud solutions may not dramatically alter the amount of traffic, it changes the pattern. An underpowered router can slow traffic like a broken toll booth gate.
For most small and mid-size businesses, network performance planning for cloud solutions should start at the ends and work towards the middle. Look at your Direct Internet Access capacity and your WiFi and move inwards to the router, hubs, and switches. A well planned network will improve performance, reliability, and productivity.
