This week, The Pennell Group has ‘Gone Google’.  That means we converted to using Google’s Software as a Service (SaaS) cloud computing solutions for our integrated email, calendar, documents, collaboration, Intranet, ERP and Project Management tools.  And best of all it was free!  Nada, Zilch, Zip.

All you need is a device with a browser and your set.  No servers to setup and manage, no hosting fees, no technical support, no software updates.

One of the best things about this service is that third parties have created a wide array of software solutions which are integrated with the Google Apps environment, and most have a ‘free’ version with either some reduced functionality of limitation on number of users.   So we were able to find an ERP software package to handle the full lifecycle of business processes from CRM for sales and customer manangement, financials, employee management, reporting, tracking projects etc. etc.

myERP.com is the name of the company and the software for ERP tools.

The other package we looked at was Gravity project planning and management tools.

So far, we have not spent a penny and it when the time comes to add the premium features, we are talking in the order of $50-$100 a year for each users.

Here’s what we did.

1. Set-up an account online with Google Apps
2. Updated the hosting account DNS MX records to deliver my mail to Google
3. Setup additional CN DNS records for other services so I can use names like ‘http://docs.pennellgroup.com’ as my entry to Google Docs for example
4. Configured the basics and created user profiles
5. Configured the myERP tool to get started
6. Create an Intranet collaboration site for employees and partners
7. That’s it, it all took about 3 hours spread over a week

Innovator’s Dilemma / Distruptive Innovation as it applies to SaaS / Cloud Computing / Android / Google Apps

This new technology has all the hall marks of disruptive innovation and therefore has the potential to threaten even the most prevalent and powerful software companies - Microsoft, Oracle and IBM come to mind.  While the capabilities are a far cry from what’s available with the latest installed software, in many ways these packages have bloated features which add relatively little value for most organizations and users.

Conversely, Google’s tools cover all the bases quite well and offer a few new twists that differentiate them from their competitors.  For example, the integration and provision of Google Android applications as an extension of the browser.

With a price tag of $0.00 and a lot of features and capabilities, it’s no wonder that over 3 million companies are already using the software and thousands are joining every day.  With Google’s deep pockets and blistering track record for delivering innovative new products, it’s very likely that in a few years, this solution will become a serious contender to the major software companies, squeezing margins and forcing them into higher and higher niches in search of premium customers willing to pay high margins.

Add to that the entrenched resentment many CIOs have to the major software companies for their pricing and support policies and it’s not hard to see why companies would like to move to another solution.  In addition, there is some cachet in simply abandoning their products as a form of protest against years of customer abuse.  There’s certainly a ‘hip factor’ in aligning with Google and becoming completely web-based.

In a few years, the concept of owning a data-center may seem quite quaint.  At the end of the day, these are composed of commodity components and plumbing with no strategic value for most companies.  The goal should be to consolidate and outsource to the lowest cost provider and that may ultimately be a few mega-companies that can invest in massive shared (cloud based) data centers complying with all the regulatory standards such as PCI and implementing common best practices like ITIL.  At this stage, it’s surprizing that so many companies can justify and continue to support tiny data-centers with their own little Lieberts, transfer switches, generators, battery farms, FM-200, raised floor, fibre management etc. etc.  For some, The Industrial Revolution has not reached corporate data centers yet and these cottage industries are still alive and well.

So we are going to jump in and participate in the evolution of Cloud Computing and SaaS and hope to learn how to effectively apply these technologies to solve real business problems for our customers.

At the end of the day, it’s another way to eat your own cooking and stay on the leading edge technology and business innovation.

http://www.google.com/apps/intl/en/business/spreadtheword.html

http://www.myerp.com/ - Manage your business in the cloud with myERP

http://www.google.com/enterprise/marketplace/viewVendorListings?vendorId=4689 - Agile Project Management Tools in the Cloud

http://www.claytonchristensen.com/ - Innovator’s Dilemma, Disruptive Technology