Goodbye Exchange, Outlook & Blackberry — Welcome Google & Android

I am a strong believer of Cloud Computing.  But something was nagging me about using Exchange, Outlook and BlackBerry mobile with Enterprise server.  These technologies seem like something out of the client/server era and this has become especially pronounced since Apple’s iPhone wide adoption.   In my assessment, we are progressing rapidly to a new era of mobile computing with the Web 2.0 promising to bring it all together in a “shared” (social) experience.

I fully understand the value proposition behind Exchange in a corporate environment.  I also appreciate the hard work that was put into the BlackBerry to work well with Exchange.  Really, to get the value you must use BlackBerry with their Enterprise Server to see how seamless they have integrated Contacts, Email, Calendar and Tasks with Exchange and Outlook.

But for smaller businesses, perhaps with 50 or fewer employees, Google Apps for Business makes a very compelling offering.  My firm has been using this platform for well over two years.  Except personally, I wasn’t willing to make the jump off Exchange because I have been using Outlook for well over a decade and BlackBerry for at least half that.  So I would forward my Prolecto Resources email from Google to a Hosted Exchange Provider to have my “executive experience”.

In August of 2010, I made the leap and I will publish a series of posts to share my findings.  In summary, I can say this:

1. Outlook is a stronger email client than Gmail on the Web.
2. BlackBerry is a more serious mobile productivity tool for Contacts, Email, and Calendar.
3. These applications are relatively slow, more expensive, and feel generally heavy.
4. Google is slowly marginalizing Outlook / Exchange and BlackBerry.  The offering is compelling especially considering the economics.
5. Google applications and its mobile OS, Android, indeed work but be prepared to experience some disappointments  — and excitement at the same time!

Stay tuned.  I will offer some more specifics shortly.

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Marty Zigman

Holding all three official certifications, Marty is regarded as the top NetSuite expert and leads a team of senior professionals at Prolecto Resources, Inc. He is a former Deloitte & Touche CPA and has held CTO roles. For over 30 years, Marty has produced leadership in ERP, CRM and eCommerce business systems. Contact Marty to set up a conversation.

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