Disaster recovery - Secure your email and files!

Interlock IT is cloud-focused and cloud-centric. We believe it's imperative for businesses and organizations to adopt cloud based solutions simply because this is where the future of technology lies. In the second quarter of 2013 more than half of Fortune 500 companies were paying for Google enterprise products, and some 5 million companies were using Google Apps for Work. Since then, it's become an even more powerful tool with even more users! These companies and organizations have thoroughly recognized the potential and security that Google Apps delivers.

What's happened in the last few weeks in Fort McMurray and surrounding areas is unfortunate. As we know, many thousands of people have been displaced and many hundreds of businesses and schools have been destroyed. What's worse is the wildfires continue to rage and thousands of firefighters remain in battle against the inferno after several weeks. Here is the latest: http://www.alberta.ca/release.cfm?xID=41701E7ECBE35-AD48-5793-1642C499FF0DE4CF

A few minutes is all it can take for nature to claim your life's work. Companies using Google Apps and other true cloud-based solutions understand that their data isn't at risk of being stolen or destroyed by natural disasters like we see in Fort McMurray today. All their emails and other invaluable documents are stored in the cloud for easy restoration in the event of a natural disaster. They also worry far less about data breaches and theft. The concept is simple; if you're like most reasonable folks, you don't stash large sums of cash under your mattress. You more than likely use a bank where your hard earned money is secure and easily accessible. Similarly, Gmail is the world's most trusted email solution with over 1 BILLION monthly active users and counting. User's have the peace of mind knowing their precious data is safe and only a click away.

Google has additional ways of safeguarding your data through The Google Analytics security and privacy principles which include operational security and disaster recovery. This is to minimize service interruption due to hardware failure, natural disasters, or other catastrophes. Google also implements a comprehensive disaster-recovery program at all of its data centers which covers data replication, geographical distribution of data centers, resilient and redundant infrastructure, and a continuity plan in the event of a disaster. Google has you covered!

We at Interlock IT take it upon ourselves to educate technology users of the importance of cloud computing. Uploading your data to cloud based services such as Google Apps is a smart way to ensure you are prepared and protected for the unexpected. Email and communication is terribly important in any industry, so destroyed hardware tends to result in major data and productivity loss. Cloud based users however, can jump to any other machine and retrieve all their work instantly from anywhere at anytime. This mitigates the loss of productivity and assures the continued function of the company.

It's always better to be prepared before a disaster strikes than after. Be sure to contact us to learn more about Google Apps and how we can assist your organization seamlessly migrate to the cloud!

Gmail vs. Outlook - Which one?

We spend a significant amount of the day reading and replying to emails, so using the right email client is imperative for optimized productivity and efficiency. The most prominent and favoured email solutions to date are Google's Gmail and Microsoft's Outlook.

To decide which solution works best for your business, it's crucial to address the kinds of features and functions your users require. Outlook is generally the 'comfort zone' option for a lot of users, and has been for some time; it's a familiar and popular application. However, Gmail has been steadily growing in popularity (surpassing 1 billion active users in Q4 2015) and in our experience, it's taken the throne away from Outlook—but how? While Outlook and Gmail both offer a similar experience with basic send/receive functionality, Gmail has taken a step further with lightning-fast mailbox searching, integrated voice and multi-person video chat, and other productivity enhancements such as Priority Inbox. Furthermore, Gmail integrates Google Hangouts, the communication platform of choice of the next generation. Gmail also includes the ability to easily attach and link files stored in Google Drive. Google Apps Learning Center offers a great overview of Gmail and Google Apps.

Although the majority of Gmail 'converts' really enjoy it, we've come across users who prefer Google Apps but insist on using Outlook because of their familiarity with the old-school interface. Many users may struggle and even dislike the change to conversation view in Gmail, but once trained on the benefits, the majority find it really helps manage large volumes of emails without using time consuming methods like sorting by sender and filing in individuals folders. Placing Outlook on top of Gmail excludes users from many powerful Gmail features that can really boost productivity and efficiency. For example, Gmail can merge emails into a single "conversation," which makes it much easier to navigate messages compared to Outlook. This enables the user to view or hide any related correspondence with a simple mouse click, instead of having to shuffle through multiple messages from the same sender. Gmail also upgrades folders with labels, which means that one email can have as many labels as needed versus Outlook, which only understands folders so users can only file a single email in a single folder - how old school is that?! Despite being able to assign multiple tags to one email, once trained with tips to use Google's powerful email search capabilities, many users stop filing in folders and using labels altogether.

Having instant access to your email and files, along with seamless collaboration, is another big selling point for Google Apps. There is no need to download, install, update, and sync legacy applications like Outlook since Google handles all the related maintenance and automatically updates Gmail, so users always get the latest innovations. This way, when you click open your browser or pick up your tablet or smartphone, it just simply works.

One of the other powerful features of Gmail is it's advanced spam filtering system. Gmail offers superior spam filtering which acts like a funnel through which only legitimate mail can pass. By the time you step into your office in the morning, Google ensures that any email that was collectively marked spam by others across the world does not end up in your inbox. Neat!

Gmail spam filtering

Although Outlook offers a familiar interface, Gmail and Google Apps for Work remain the email service of choice for most of our customers. More than 5 million businesses worldwide have moved to Google Apps, allowing their employees to productively collaborate, wherever and whenever they work. Be sure to check out some of the differences and benefits you'll get by switching to Gmail from Outlook and a legacy Exchange ecosystem. We here at InterlockIT have led many migrations, so contact us to schedule yours!

To Cloud or not to Cloud? Google Apps for Work

Google Apps and Cloud computing in general has always been uniquely susceptible to myths due to the confusion and hype surrounding it. Although moving to the cloud has undoubtedly become a growing trend among various kinds of business and organizations, the vast majority of IT decision makers frequently ask us questions about how moving to Google Apps will affect them. These questions, if not addressed with the correct knowledge, can impede innovation, distract from real progress, and sometimes even induce fear. Ultimately the truth gets skewed and myths are born. Here are the most common ones:

Myth 1: Cloud is more expensive.

Google Apps is delivered to your business over the web at a fraction of the cost of installed systems. It may seem like purchasing a continuous cloud subscription of services over a one-time on-premise installation is costing you more money, but when you review the total cost of ownership you'll recognize that cloud-solutions such as Google Apps for Work save you money in the long run. The cloud yields substantial savings as you no longer need to invest in hardware, IT personnel, maintenance, upgrades etc. for on-premise infrastructure.

Myth 2: Cloud isn't secure and it's better to keep data on-premise.

This is probably the most common one. Kimbley IT goes over some of the security myths of Google Apps. Over 5 million businesses already use Google Apps for Work and it's helping them improve teamwork and reduce costs without compromising security. Some business owners still have concerns about security and understandably so if they've been given the wrong impression of the cloud. Google does not sell your information and your data will always belong to you. Unless you use the services to do so, Google does not share your data with other people and protects its transit over the internet with SSL encryption. Plus, most SMB owners don't have recent back-ups and don't secure their data off-site. With Google Apps, data is automatically backed up in global data centers, protecting it from accidental damage, loss, theft, and fire. You can also enable extra security protocols like 2-step verification in addition to your password to make unauthorized access nearly impossible. Learn further details on Google Apps security.

Myth 3: You are ‘locked-in’ once you move to the cloud.

Google keeps your data for as long as you have an account with them - but in the rare event of wanting to exit the cloud, they have tools to help you export your emails, contacts, calendars, documents, and sites. For example, you can export your documents to various Microsoft compatible formats. Check out Google Takeout for further details.

Myth 4: Migration to the cloud is more hassle than its worth.

While some cleaning and infrastructural management may be required, especially if you are running on very old servers, migrating into the cloud is relatively pain free if you work in partnership with a trusted and experienced cloud migration company like us! It can all happen fairly quickly and seamlessly with minimal downtime. What is important to understand is that the short-term inconvenience cannot and does not outweigh the long-term benefits of having greater efficiency, cost effectiveness, and a business that is virtually future-proof, regardless of the changes the market brings.

Between its reliability and low cost compared to other sources, the Cloud is a piece of technology that isn't going away anytime soon and is growing rather rapidly. Cloud solutions have given SMB owners access to the same level of services as larger companies and solutions like Google Apps have leveled the playing field and introduce an incredible amount of power, efficiency, and collaboration to its users. H3 Secure Cloud Services do an excellent job explaining the benefits of switching over to the Cloud. If you're looking to take your organization off of it's outdated footprint into a new and improved direction, be sure to contact us at InterlockIT to help you make your leap into the cloud!

Migration is worth it! - Windows Server 2003 no longer supported

Early last year Microsoft announced that it was ending support for Windows Server 2003 but would continue to provide extended support for some additional time. We addressed this in an older post and pointed to an alternative solution, Google Apps.

Here is some breaking news if your business is still running on Microsoft Windows Server 2003:

Last week, Microsoft announced its discontinuation of extended support for Windows Server 2003. So what does this mean? It means Microsoft will no longer provide fixes, updates, or technical assistance. This also means no more security updates, leaving physical and virtual instances vulnerable to any and all new security threats, which have been increasingly damaging.

Businesses that are still running Server 2003 face a number of vital considerations. It’s been over a decade since its release and the computing world has changed drastically since. Although the Windows Server 2003 platform worked well in its time, it’s now become a liability and a limitation for organizations still relying on it. Waiting to upgrade is both expensive and risky as you’re now susceptible to security threats and paying hefty fees to maintain old hardware. It's now time to leave the obsolete server and update your business' infrastructure.

Leaving Windows Server 2003 is an opportunity for change. So where do you go? Windows Server 2012 R2, Microsoft Azure, and Office 365 are all concrete solutions with great benefits, including improved performance, reduced maintenance requirements, increased agility and speed of response to business. Microsoft recommends collaborating with a partner to help execute a successful migration strategy. We have, not one, but two Microsoft Silver Competencies and are here to help you!

Alternatively you could step into the Google infrastructure and perhaps find that it's better suited for your specific business needs.

You now know that you are at the end of your Windows Server 2003's life cycle, contact us today to pave your way to a successful and permanent migration to the cloud! Migration is worth it!

Two-Step Verification: An added layer of security

You most likely use passwords everyday in your life. Unfortunately, they are not as secure as they once used to be. Even if all your passwords are different across a multitude of accounts, it will do little to ensure security if an attacker gains access to your email. To be blunt, passwords are fundamentally flawed. To add an extra layer of protection from malicious attackers trying to pry their way into your account, consider 2-step verification. 2-step verification ensures security of your account beyond a regular username and password with added authentication.

Authentication is a step of proving that you are indeed yourself, the legitimate owner of the account, before granting access. The problem with standard authentication is that it only relies on something you know, a username and a password. Often, this can be guessed, cracked, or compromised in some way. Attackers, if equipped with these credentials, can easily access the account cloaked as the authentic user, making it difficult to regain control. 2-step verification is built upon something you know such as a password, and something you have like a mobile phone, fingerprint, or key.

This is where Google 2-Step verification steps in. Logging into a Google Account that has 2-step verification enabled, requires a unique, time-sensitive code in addition to the standard username and password (this code can be sent to your phone via SMS or with an application like Authy or Google's own Authenticator). It is an extra step, but it helps ensure that your account is extremely difficult to compromise. Essentially, with Google you are combining two things: your standard credentials and something that only you have access to--your phone. Think of Google's 2-step verification as a layer of security similar to that of a bank's ATM. You insert your bank card (something you have) and input your PIN (something you know). A robber would need to gain access to both of these factors to gain access to your account, plus, with 2-step verification, your "PIN" changes every 45 seconds.

The process to set up your Google 2-Step Verification is user friendly and generally takes about 15 minutes. This small amount of time to ensure maximum security to your invaluable data will save you the stress of having your account compromised.

Signing in with Google's 2-Step Verification is simple.

1. Go to the sign-in page and enter your username and password like you normally do.
2. Google's system authenticates your username and password, and if they are correct, you will then be asked for a six-digit code, which you'll get from your phone.
3. After you turn on 2-step verification, non-browser applications and devices that use your Google Account will require an application-specific password to allow this application to connect to your account -- you only have to do this once for each application or device.

The benefits of 2-step verification are simple: Access to an account depends on a user to consult the source that is not readily available on the computer and is singularly designated in order to gain access to an account. 2-step goes much further to protect your information, as criminals have to work much harder to compromise your accounts.  

Set up 2-step verification on every account you can. In addition to using a secure, unique password for each account you have, it's one of the best and easiest ways you can protect yourself against any kind of data vulnerability.

As Windows XP and Exchange 2003 approach end of life, Google Apps can fill the gap

Microsoft's Windows XP is one of the most successful operating systems ever released, selling over 400 million licenses during its lifetime. When coupled with Exchange 2003, the two systems were hugely profitable for Microsoft. Businesses simply don't want to move away from products that still work well. However, after over twelve years of powering many of the world’s computers, Windows XP and Exchange Server 2003 will officially retire on April 8th, 2014.  This means that security patches will no longer be released by Microsoft leaving your Windows XP computers more susceptible to attacks, vulnerabilities, and other nasties.

However, Google has committed to support Chrome on Windows XP until at least April of 2015. Since unpatched browser bugs are often used by attackers to infect computers, this is great news for the millions of users still using Windows XP.

As of November 2013, Windows XP still accounts for a whopping 31.2% of desktop operating systems worldwide. Unfortunately no solid numbers are available for Exchange 2003's market share, but in March of this year The Radicati Group released its report, “Microsoft Exchange, Office 365, and Outlook Market Analysis, 2013-2017” which pegs overall Exchange usage at 51% of email systems in the Business Email and Collaboration market.

Google Apps for Business provides a powerful alternative to any Exchange Server or Outlook email system and relieves the pressure of constantly having to upgrade by doing all the heavy lifting for you. You're always on the newest version of Google Apps and you never have to worry about upgrading servers or micro-managing a fleet of incompatible devices, as nearly any device with a web browser will work.

So if you're near the end of Exchange Server 2003's life cycle, why not boost your company's productivity with Google Apps for Business? Contact us today to find out why Google Apps is the right fit for you!

YouTube video on CBC Canada's migration to Google Apps: 10,000 users in less than 3 months

Google+ SEO and the New Google+ Related Pages Widget in Gmail

In December 2012, Google+ overtook Twitter for the #2 spot among social networks, with 343 million active monthly users. YouTube, Google's famous video-sharing site, ranks third, with 300 million active monthly users. Together, these two sites boast over 700 million active monthly users. Wouldn't it be nice to tap into 700 million users?

With the new Google+ related pages widget in Gmail, you now can—provided you meet a few important criteria. Most small-to-medium sized businesses we've encountered who have already deployed Google Apps haven't had it done by Google Apps Certified Deployment Specialists, which means they're generally missing SPF spam prevention and DKIM message authentication. This not only leaves your domain open to spammers and fails to prevent spoofing, but now it also means that your Google+ page can't help you fight your way to the top of Google Search Engine results.

Recently, Google rolled out a new Google+ feature that ties into Google Apps email: related pages. When a contact opens an email from you in Gmail or Google Apps, they have the ability to see at-a-glance your latest activity on Google+, the ability to +1 posts, follow your page, and more. All this capability, though, hinges on your Google+ page and Google Apps accounts being properly configured.

Linking your website to your Google+ profile is the first step, and something few businesses have done. This step is fairly easy and helps slightly with your search results, but more important are the email domain protection of SPF and DKIM authentication.

SPF is easy to implement but unfortunately just as easy to implement incorrectly, which is the state we often find it in. SPF helps other email systems identify where your email messages are allowed to come from and whether or not a particular message actually came from there. Without this, spammers can "spoof" your domain name and send email that appears as though it comes from your company's domain.

DKIM works like SPF but takes the authentication up another notch by integrating your domain's DNS records with email. You generate a unique 1,024-bit "key" that is added to every email message you send from your domain while mail servers that receive messages from your company compare the key on the message to the key in the DNS records. If the two match, the message is cleared and will hit your inbox; if the two don't match, the message is marked as spam and treated as such. A handy side-effect of DKIM authentication is that recipients of your emails will no longer need to click "Display images" on your messages. Since Google knows that your message came from you, this anti-spam tactic isn't required.

Google+ makes its impact not simply because it's also a Google product, but because Google can gather more information on users than what would come from using a browser cookie—now it can track someone's location, age, industry, and most importantly, their interests. With Google+, Google can even better personalize search engine results based on the additional information provided by a user's +1's, sharing, and posts.

By building a powerful Google+ network, you have the opportunity to directly affect the personalized search results of thousands of people in your extended network. The more interaction you have with users and followers on Google+, the more likely it is that your page and website will rank higher in Google Search Engine results.

The Google+ Related Pages Widget makes it simple for your contacts to follow you on Google+ leading to increased Google Search Engine page rank and visibility. Ultimately, this leads to more prospects and customers for your business!

Contact us at Interlockit.com so that our team of Google Apps Certified Deployment Specialists can configure the Related Pages Widget on your Google Apps domain.

Using Google Apps with the BlackBerry Z10: Device Administration and Remote Wiping

The new BlackBerry Z10 brings a number of great new features to the plate for enterprise users, all without the need for costly BlackBerry Enterprise Server hardware or BlackBerry Mobile Fusion licenses. These costs aren't insignificant; BlackBerry Mobile Fusion costs $99/device/year. If you want to manage a phone and tablet you pay twice or $198/user/year.  Compare that to Google Apps which costs $50/user/year with no per device fees.

In our last post, we showed you how easy it is to set up a brand new BlackBerry Z10 to work with your Google Apps domain. Thanks to the new BlackBerry 10 operating system and the continually-improving functionality of Google Apps, it's now easier than ever to manage all your mobile devices from one centralized location.

In your standard Google Apps for Business Mobile Device settings, you will be presented with a screen similar to the following:

Click to enlarge.

On this page, you'll see all the mobile devices currently registered to each user in your organization. The last one is what we're particularly interested in, as that is our fancy new BlackBerry Z10. (Note: it's listed as Unknown/Unknown here because we took these screenshots very soon after the device's launch. It now shows up correctly as a BlackBerry Z10.) Clicking the Device ID will bring you to the device's current status page, where you'll be able to see such information as the first time the device synced to Google's system, the last time it did, its current state, the user's name and email addresses which are delivering mail to the phone, as well as some more technical information.

Click to enlarge.

Alternatively, if you have a large number of mobile devices, it may be easier to get to the one that you need through the user's control panel settings. Simply scroll down to the bottom and you will see the mobile devices the user has registered with his/her account.

Click to enlarge.

Through either of these control panel screens, you have the option to wipe the device. This will wipe all data from the device and restore it to factory settings. You will be presented with a fairly standard warning screen when you choose to wipe the device, at which time you will either confirm or cancel the wipe process.

And that's it! Nice and simple device administration, without the need for any additional hardware or software.

Blair Collins from Interlockit.com presenting at CMA Ontario's SME 2013: Small Business, Big Success event on January 24th

Re-invigorate and re-charge the way you think about your business. Specially developed for entrepreneurs, SME 2013 will provide you with strategies to grow your small-to-medium business. Its blend of specialized speakers and networking opportunities will provide you the professional insights to take your business to the next level.

For more event details visit: http://pdi-cma.com/cmp/sme.html

Get Organized with Google Apps and free web services for 2013

One of the top resolutions for many Canadians is to get organized. Between work life, home life and their social life, people are juggling more and more each year. As schedules become increasingly hectic, staying in control can feel overwhelming at times, but getting organized doesn't have to be a lofty goal.

Frazzled families can finally toss all those paper to-do lists, post-it notes, kitchen calendars, pocket organizers and baskets of bills with the web – and free web services ranging from web calendars that you can share with a spouse or family, to web-based documents that can save your sanity as you plan family events.

The web can take a lot of work out of managing your life.  A free Google account is all you need to get started.  You can take your information with you wherever you are, whether on a laptop, tablet or smartphone. Here are just a few ways people can get their lives organized online:

• Move the kitchen calendar online – See how your spouse’s and kids’ schedules line up with yours by sharing a Google Calendar. Different colours/calendars click on and off to show events for different members of the family, carpool schedules, swimming practices, birthdays etc.

• Toss out bulky pocket organizers – Have your Google calendar sync automatically to your smart phone calendar or set up text message reminders of calendar events.

• Use Google Tasks for your to do list which works on your mobile device by opening http://gmail.com/tasks from your mobile browser.

• Create Google Tasks directly from an email with the shortcut Shift + T or by choosing Add to Tasks from the More options menu in your Gmail conversation.  This ensures you won't lose track of the related email content.

• Organize your expenses for 2013 and keep track of your spending plan on Google Docs Spreadsheets.  You can edit Google Spreadsheets directly from your iPad or Android tablet or of course from any web browser.

• For a more sophisticated but still free financial planner that automatically retrieves all your transactions from most Canadian banks you can setup the Canadian version of Mint.com in 10 minutes or less.

• Google sites is a free tool that lets you build collaborative websites. You can give anyone on your sports team, or PTA group permission to edit or just view the content of the site. You can make the site public or private. Sites makes it easy to embed the latest news updates, contact lists, videos, photos, group calendars and more.

• On the business side; need to better manage your customer relationships and projects?  Try out Norada Solve360 CRM and give us a ring to show you how it integrates with other solutions for accounting, contacts, calendaring, and email marketing.

Now’s the time to make those New Year’s resolutions a reality!

Some content from: Official Google Canada Blog

A Secret Gmail Feature Is Hiding In Plain Sight...

This is an awesome Google Apps Gmail tip posted on Gizmodo.

Including the entire chain of text from prior emails is not necessary due to conversation threading in Gmail.

A quick way to help your email replies be more focused and concise is to select the relevant text in the email you want to reply to, then hit the reply button.  Only the selected text will be quoted.  Continue your reply as per usual.

Enjoy.

Tips for "The new compose in Gmail"

Google Apps users now have the option of turning on "The new compose in Gmail".

Note that you've always been able to Shift-Mouse Click the Compose button to open your new message in a separate web browser window.  You can also click the small black up arrow on the right hand side of the "To:" field to open in a window after you've started composing.

We are bringing this to your attention because the new compose button is missing lab features like Canned Responses and doesn't appear as a separate window on your Windows taskbar making it harder to find when it is embedded in your main email tab.

Certainly try it out.  You can always switch back to the prior compose interface from the arrowhead menu at the bottom right corner of the new compose feature.

Canada tops for mobile data loss

The HR Reporter recently shared a study by the Ponemon Institute which Crashplan also highlighted on their blog.

HRReporter.com notes:

• Corporate mobile devices and the bring-your-own device (BYOD) phenomenon are rapidly circumventing enterprise security and policies in Canada.
• 71 percent of 421 respondents in Canada agree the use of mobile devices in the workplace is important to achieving business objectives.
• 72 percent of Canadian respondents also believe these devices put their organizations at risk — and only  half of the organizations surveyed have the necessary security controls to address the risk.
• 58 percent of the organizations experienced data loss resulting from employee use of insecure mobile devices.
• Canada and Italy ranked the highest out of 12 countries surveyed for mobile data loss.

Bottom line is Mobile devices are a huge security risk.  Smartphones can store an immense amount of sensitive emails and contact databases which may easily fall into unfriendly hands.

Google Apps has excellent built in Mobile Device Management that allows customers to remotely wipe the synced data contents of iPhones, and Androids plus enforce password and screen lock policies.  You can even control and approve what devices are allowed to connect to your organization's Google Apps data.

For Blackberries we offer a Google Apps integrated Blackberry Enterprise Server solution for $10/device/month with similar capabilities for remote wipe of data, etc.

There are no complex integrations requirements or other extra costs for Mobile Device Management with Google Apps for iPhone, iPad, or Android devices.  There is no need to purchase expensive 3rd party solutions like RIM Mobile Fusion that exceed the $50 USD/year/user cost of Google Apps.  Zenprise is another Mobile Device Management solution with prices starting at $40/device/year.

Contact us at Interlockit.com to learn more about protecting your organization's valuable data with Google Apps.

The rumours were true... Announcing Google Drive

On April 24th Google announced Google Drive, a new way to access and share all your files and folders, at any time and on any device.  Google Drive replaces and enhances what you know today as your Google Documents List.

Google Apps users now have a fantastic alternative to other cloud storage solutions like Dropbox, Egnyte, and Box.

An immediate benefit to Google Apps customers is that your 1 Gb non Google Docs storage limit has been expanded to 5 Gb.  The storage of Google Docs format files is still unlimited.

Effective this week Google Apps Resellers like us can sell you Google Apps domain licenses for additional storage that you can then assign to specific users.  Pricing starts at $4/month for 20 Gb.

Think of Google Drive as your personal stash of files and folders that follows you wherever you go - it lets you keep everything and share anything. With Google Drive, you can access files, folders, and Google Docs from a web browser or any device where you've installed your Google Drive.

Your Google Drive is in the cloud, but you can also install the desktop and mobile application to access your files from your computer, smartphone, tablet, or other Android or iOS mobile device, in addition to the online interface at drive.google.com. Google Drive's built-in sync capability ensures that your files, folders, and Google Docs are the same on all your devices.

To try it out visit drive.google.com/start

Note that currently only rapid release domains will see Google Drive.  Scheduled Release domains will see it in Phase 2 for which a timeline has not yet been set.

Contact us at Interlockit.com if you'd like assistance with configuring Google Drive, purchasing licenses, or understanding better how this might help your business eliminate file servers completely!

New Year's Predictions and Milestones Achieved

Interlockit.com has now migrated over 2000 users to Google Apps!

The majority of our larger customers have migrated from Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 but we've also helped organizations of all sizes move away from traditional ISP hosted POP3/IMAP email accounts with Easyhosting.com, Bellhosting.ca, Telushosting.com, Godaddy.com, Networksolutions.com, and even from Hosted Microsoft Exchange at Sherweb.com.

One customer install really highlights an advantage of going all web browser based.  They had attempted to use a Hosted Microsoft Exchange Server solution for their employees spread around the world and in some countries where internet data lines are unreliable.  Going web browser based with Google Apps dramatically improved their ability to communicate and collaborate in real time across the company.  In particular they can finally communicate electronically with their employees in the Democratic Republic of Congo via Google Apps.

We're seing an increase in inquiries for Microsoft Online Services/BPOS deployments also.  Ultimately we deploy what the customer chooses but certainly discuss the pro's and con's of each option.  The head to head competition between Google and Microsoft is great for our customers in the end.

Our number one prediction for 2011 is that the pace of adoption of Cloud Computing solutions like Google Apps and Microsoft BPOS/Office 365 will continue to accelerate; and, as an early adopter that focuses exclusively on Cloud Solutions, Interlockit.com will continue to both save our customers money over the long term but also provide them with a better way of running their business.

Interlockit.com - Moving Businesses to the Cloud

Google defines 100% Web

Google today posted an excellent article about bringing customers to a world they call 100% web. Interlockit.com has helped numerous customers move their businesses to the cloud ranging from 1000's of users to sole proprietors. Defining the vision we share of 100% web will help future customers better spot the numerous cloud pretenders.

"This year cloud computing went mainstream, and the conversations moved beyond "this is a way to cut costs" to "this is a better way to run my business."  While many IT vendors have now adopted (or co-opted) the term “cloud computing” to describe a wide variety of technologies, most don’t deliver on the true promise of the cloud. Hosting single-tenant server products in a data center is not cloud computing. Nor is requiring customers to install thick client software. These solutions lock-in customers to multi-year release cycles, leave them with the significant costs of managing client software, and expose sensitive data on insecure devices."

You can read the complete Google Enterprise blog post here

70% of Canadians have a wireless device

Integration with mobile devices is a critical component of any email and document management solution.

A study released by firm iSuppli Corp shows that 73.4% of the earth's population has a mobile phone.  In Canada, 70% of our population has a wireless device.

You can join a live webinar for businesses on 9/23: Google Apps for mobile.  Click here for more details and to register.

For additional reading:

• http://www.isuppli.com/Mobile-and-Wireless-Communications/News/Pages/Global-Wireless-Subscriptions-Reach-5-Billion.aspx 
• http://mobilesyrup.com/2010/09/21/73-4-percent-of-the-earth%E2%80%99s-population-has-a-mobile-phone/

Google Apps: Rapid innovation in the cloud versus hosted applications

Wow, Google is rolling out a massive number of improvements to Google Apps in a short amount of time!  I count 87 entries so far on the blog for 2010, which is an average of  ~10 per month.

This is a fundamental difference between true cloud computing and the hosting of applications.  Quickbooks for example (not Quickbooks online which is not availabe in Canada), is an excellent accounting application but having it hosted doesn't elimininate the work of installing patches, learning the significant changes from the prior version, and preparing for any major impact to your current business processes.  However, for certain businesses hosting Quickbooks in a data centre is a great option that eliminates the headaches of running your own servers, provides simple remote access, and ensures backups are stored offsite.  At Interlockit.com we've helped customers move a variety of applications into data centres but we always do a cost comparison to the alternatives before making the recommendations.  Sometimes the hardware or software requirements mean running it on the customer's own servers is the better option.

I like this analogy from one of the articles below:  "Buying the services of a traditional hosting provider is like renting a set of electricity generators, whereas a cloud computing provider provides an electrical power grid. The idea is that a cloud computing provider makes it extra easy to treat computing resources like a pay-as-you-go utility service."

NetSuite, SuccessFactors, Salesforce.com, Freshbooks, these are all true cloud computing applications that provide continuous innovation for all of their customers.  The learning curve is small because small changes are made on a continuous basis.

Remember the big learning curve when switching from Microsoft Office 2003 to 2007?

Subscribe to the Google Apps official blog to keep up with all the changes at http://googleappsupdates.blogspot.com/

Subscribe to the Microsoft Online Services/BPOS blog at http://blogs.technet.com/b/msonline/

For additional reading:

• Salesforce CEO: Private cloud is not real cloud 
• The differences between Hosting and Cloud Hosting 
• Cloud Computing versus traditional hosting

Do Canadians avoid Cloud Computing due to the Patriot Act?

Having sold U.S. based SaaS solutions for over 5 years we occasionally encounter prospective Canadian customers that use the U.S. Patriot Act as an excuse to avoid cloud computing.

Note that as far as the Federal Government knows the Patriot Act has never been used to access Canadian data.  Consider also that your customer's data is far more secure on Microsoft's or Google's servers than it ever will be on their own server in their own office.

My editorial opinion is that ensuring you have secure passwords is far more important than being concerned about the very remote possibility that the U.S. government might access your data.  1 in 3 Canadian jobs is related to international trade; to require the data to be located in Canada limits a business' opportunity to utilize the best solution at the best price and makes us less competitive in the global market. 

Would you be willing to pay 5 to 10 times more for the same service in Canada?  I did the costing analysis with 2 large SaaS companies and that was the reality of the numbers.

For further reading:

• Treasury Board of Canada: Frequently Asked Questions: USA PATRIOT ACT Comprehensive Assessment Results
• IT World Canada: Don’t use the Patriot Act as an excuse