Friday, February 25, 2011

Google Cloud Connect for Microsoft Office

We mentioned back in March 2010 that Google had acquired DocVerse and have been eagerly awaiting the product release.  It's finally here and wow did Google deliver!  They brought simultaneous document editing to Office 2003, 2007, and 2010.  There is no need to purchase an Office 2010 upgrade and setup a Sharepoint server or Skydrive to gain the Microsoft equivalent of this feature.

What is simultaneous editing?  It means that multiple people can edit the exact same document at the exact same time and automatically see the other person's changes.  With simultaneous editing you can work on different slides of a single Powerpoint presentaton file at the same time or update meeting minutes in a single Microsoft Word file at the same time.

By the way, simultaneous editing has been available with native Google Docs, Google Spreadsheets, and Google Presentations for years now.   It makes collaborating on documents and presentations a breeze.

I tested Google Cloud Connect by opening an existing Microsoft Word document in Office 2010 on one computer and synched it with Google Cloud Connect.  I then downloaded from Google Docs and opened it with another computer running Office 2007.  When I changed lines of text on either computer and clicked the save button, within seconds the other computer would refresh and show the same change.  Incredible functionality and I think that explains why it took almost 1 year from acquisition to release the product.

For more details and a video overview check out Google's official blog posting and Google Docs Help

Monday, February 14, 2011

Transition from Salesforce.com to Norada Solve360

Announcing the official launching of our Salesforce.com activity and opportunity migration tool!

We can migrate tasks, events, and activity records and emails from Salesforce.com to Norada Solve360 starting at $495 USD. Mapping custom activity fields and migrating lead activity adds slightly to the cost. We provide fixed priced estimates after reviewing your Salesforce.com and Solve360 account.

The history is pushed into a formatted note on the appropriate contact or company (Account) record.

Update: We can migrate open and closed Salesforce.com opportunity records too!

Give us a call at (416) 840-6268 or visit us at http://www.interlockit.com

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Why isn't your current IT consultant or reseller promoting the cloud?

Cloud Computing is a disruptive wave that provides cheaper, more convenient, and simpler business solutions that work.  So why isn't your current consultant or reseller recommending Cloud Computing solutions?

It's simple:
  1. Cloud software vendors sell direct to the customer and give little or zero margin to the reseller.
  2. Consultants compete globally in the cloud for engagements because cloud systems can be setup and managed from anywhere without complex remote access solutions.
  3. On-premise consultants know your existing network infrastructure and server configurations making customer's loyal to them for future work.  In the cloud you only need a web browser so the customer is more likely to choose the cloud software expert over their existing consultant.
  4. For every $1 customers spend on Microsoft enterprise licensing fees, they spend $8 with consultants and channel vendors customizing Microsoft's tools or integrating other products.  This ecosystem works well with an on-premise model that requires physical management and integration of systems.
Bottom line is that, until forced to change, existing consultants and resellers will continue to focus on what makes them the most money which is traditional on-premise systems.

The challenge for Cloud Computing focused vendors like us is to constantly find new customers because the  recurring consulting dollars for us are much smaller.  However, we're 100% committed to cloud solutions because fundamentally it is the best solution for the customer.

We love our work because we're blazing a new trail and every day making our customer's extraordinarily happy with moving their business to the cloud.