AGATT - All Google All The Time
One of the comments on my last post said Chrome's entry to the market is more than a browser war, it's really a browser versus Operating System war. If you tilt your head just right and squint a little, you can make a case for AGATT – All Google, All The Time.
What feature has Google touted about Chrome above all others? Faster JavaScript processing. Why is that important? Most online applications use JavaScript and other Java tools as their source code to write the applications. Faster browser support for JavaScript and other programming tools means faster applications running from an online host.
In case you haven't looked lately, the Google Apps page continues to offer more tools, and the tools that are there tend to improve just a little bit each month. A Google employee told me recently that they new Spreadsheet wasn't a full-featured product when they started it 18 months ago, but now you can do just about anything with it you can do with “other” spreadsheets (that means Microsoft, but Googlers don't say that directly). Plus, you and four of your friends can work on the same spreadsheet at the same time. Try that with the “other” option.
Let's see if All Google All The Time would work for most small business users. Start the day by looking at your calendar – AGATT. Check your e-mail – AGATT. Read a few news Web sites – AGATT. Blog about a news story – AGATT. Send an IM to a coworker to read your blog – AGATT. Modify a contract document – AGATT. Repeat.
We could go on an on, but the trend is clear. Companies that use Google Apps Premiere, the $50 per user per year product, can easily build their entire workday around Google products, and do so for less money and less hassle than by following other paths to a full workday solution. It will be interesting to ask some Google folks if they already have some case studies of companies following the All Google All The Time computing model.
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Have you ever used Google
Have you ever used Google spreadsheets? If you have, I doubt you would write:A Google employee told me recently that they new Spreadsheet wasn't a full-featured product when they started it 18 months ago, but now you can do just about anything with it you can do with “other” spreadsheets (that means Microsoft, but Googlers don't say that directly).
Google Spreadsheets is good for what it is (a sharing utility for simple spreadsheets), but it hardly full featured compared to Excel. And Microsoft tools allow you to share now as well.
Just because a "Google Employee" says something, take it with a little grain of salt please.
I've heard about Microsoft's
I've heard about Microsoft's Excel sharing tools, but haven't tested them. Have you? How much more infrastructure and setup is required to share Excel spreadsheets?James
Google Apps has well over
Google Apps has well over one million customers now. While many of these companies are probably small businesses with less than 20 employees, it's still an impressive number and AGATT is a reality for many organizations.Google is definitely looking towards the future by investing in cloud computing and software-as-a-service (SaaS) for the long haul. They offer resources such as the following whitepapers, Comprehensive Review of Security and Vulnerability Protections for Google Apps and Curbing Costs with Google Apps. Google also offers an online videos, Google Apps: Quick Tour, to introduce key concepts and ease the transition from traditional desktop apps to apps "in the cloud".