CapGemini teams with Google to provide big companies with service, support for the Web-based office suite…
CapGemini have joined Google Inc. to become the first global consultancy to offer major corporate clients the search company’s web-based office software, “Google Apps Premier Edition,” as an alternative to Microsoft’s Office technology.
The two companies on Monday are expected to announce a partnership under which CapGemini will offer desktop support and installation services to large corporations that use Google Apps Premier Edition.
CapGemini, which already runs the desktops of more than a million corporate workers, will provide its customers with “Google Apps” that includes word processing, spreadsheet, calendar, email, instant messaging and IP telephony tools — can fill a role of large corporations even though the product suite is used mainly by individuals and small businesses, according to CapGemini executives.
“CapGemini believes that GoogleApps — Google’s online alternative to Microsoft Office–appeals to more than college students and small businesses.”
The endorsement for Google is a milestone for the concept of “software as a service” (SaaS) that is owned, run and delivered remotely, using the internet, rather than the traditional model of individual firms buying and maintaining their own systems.
These Web-based applications make sense for employees who typically do not have their own PCs, such as factory line or retail workers, where the cost of a PC and Microsoft Office is hard to justify, said Steve Jones, head of SOA (services-oriented architecture) at CapGemini.
The Google suite also makes sense for people collaborating over the Internet with business partners, he added.
The big difference is that Google’s applications such as its Google Docs word processing and spreadsheet service allow multiple users to simultaneously work on one document and see changes in real time.
“If you look at the traditional desktop it is very focused on personal productivity,” said Robert Whiteside, Google enterprise manager, UK and Ireland. “Word and Google Docs are about solving different problems, what Google Apps brings is team productivity,” he said.
“There is a big collaboration void in companies – Word is focused on creating content, Google Docs is about creating and working on content together.”
But the launch of the CapGemini partnership comes as companies make key decisions on long-term technology upgrades, following January’s launch of Microsoft’s next-generation Vista operating system.
CapGemini is one of Microsoft’s partners for its new Vista operating system and will continue to use products from Microsoft and Lotus Notes owner IBM, but adding Google is a vote of confidence in the company’s applications. CapGemini is already installing Google Apps in its first major corporate customer.
“Microsoft is an important partner to us as is IBM,” said the head of partnerships at CapGemini’s outsourcing business, Richard Payling. “In our client base we have a mix of Microsoft users and Lotus Notes users and we now have our first Google Apps user.”
“But CapGemini is all about freedom, giving clients’ choice of the most appropriate technology that is going to fit their business environment.”
Google currently charges $50 per user account per year for the Premier Edition.
CapGemini will provide deployment, helpdesk, integration, security and archiving services aimed at companies with 2,000 seats and upwards and will be able to customize everything down to an individual user’s desktop, said Steve Jones, head of SOA, CapGemini Global Outsourcing.
“This is not a one-size-fits-all,” Jones said. “It is desktop couture.”
CapGemini said Google Apps could give access to collaboration software for employees in fields such as retail, distribution and manufacturing that currently have limited or no tools.
“About 48 per cent of all workers still do not have access to email,” said Payling. “CEOs would like to connect them but have not been able to afford to.”
CapGemini will offer services based on the Google Apps Premier Edition, which includes APIs for hooking into business infrastructure, 10GB of email storage per user, a 99.9 per cent email uptime guarantee, blocking of context-sensitive advertising and 24×7 phone supports.
While Google and CapGemini said they are not aiming to knock Microsoft Corp. off its perch as the dominant office software, they plan to make enough major inroads in the short term to have Microsoft looking over its shoulder.
By delivering and supporting Google Apps as a SaaS desktop tool for large-scale companies, CapGemini is addressing a significant gap in the marketplace, Jones said.
“People are receptive at this point in the cycle,” said CapGemini head of business development Andrew Gough.
Google Apps is not yet a genuine competitor to Microsoft because it does not have an equivalent range. However, it is only a matter of time, according to Gough.
“At the moment, we see the two as complementary because knowledge workers need Microsoft Office for the functionality. But in five years’ time the two will be true rivals,” he said.
Although the Windows/Office combination has retained its duopoly on business desktops despite many challenges over the years, the combination of Google’s mass and CapGemini’s inroads with large European companies could make this a real threat.
“This partnership with CapGemini provides both vendors with significant credibility,” said Forrester Research analyst Ray Wang. “Google gains a trusted adviser to large enterprises looking at right sourcing email operations. CapGemini gains credibility as a vendor providing Web 2.0 and cutting-edge solutions.”
Google Apps was launched in February. Business users include Proctor & Gamble and General Electric. CapGemini’s first major corporate customer is expected to be announced next month.
Software as a service is a growing phenomenon. Analysts at Forrester say 12pc of global corporate’s already use the model in some part of their business.
Google’s tie-up with one of the biggest names in business technology consulting is a sign that the time could be right for web-based programs to address everyday office automation tasks across large enterprises and go beyond established domains such as customer relationship management.