Interlockit.com team member becomes a Google Apps Certified Deployment Specialist

Over 6,000 partner organizations are implementing Google Apps around the world.

Only a small fraction of Google Apps partners have staff that have passed the stringent Google Apps Certified Deployment Specialist exam.  Interlockit.com is pleased to be able to further differentiate ourselves in the Google Apps Marketplace by adding a third Certified Deployment Specialist to our team.

Interlockit.com currently maintains an elite status as one of only two Google Apps Premier Authorized Resellers based in Canada.

Deploying Google Apps is what we love to do!

Does your current provider have any Google Apps Certified Deployment Specialists on staff?

Interlockit.com team member is re-certified for Google Apps Certified Deployment Specialist

Google requires that all Google Apps Deployment Specialist's recertify every 18 months.  The Google Apps product changes frequently so it's important that specialists maintain their Google Apps skills.

Back in March of 2011, when our first team member passed his specialist exam there were 3 million organizations on Google Apps and over 2,500 Google Apps Authorized Resellers worldwide.  Today over 5 million organizations are on Google Apps and over 6,000 organizations are resellers.

Interlockit.com is proud to maintain our elite status as 1 of only 2 Google Apps Premier Authorized Resellers in Canada.  Our best guess is that only 40 organizations worldwide are Premier Authorized for Google Apps.

Is your current consultant a Google Apps Certified Deployment Specialist?

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.

Oracle acquires RightNow CRM: Cloud Platform or Cloudwashing?

This morning Oracle announced a deal to purchase RightNow for $1.5 billion.  Oracle's headline reads "Adds Leading Customer Service Cloud Offering to Oracle's Public Cloud."

In 2007 I had written RightNow CRM off as a non-cloud product while competing against them as a Sales Manager at NetSuite.

Unless a product is 100% web based like Google Apps or Norada Solve360 you still have all the costs and complexity of installing, upgrading, supporting, and fixing workstation based software.  Check out the RightNow CX "staff member" system requirements and recommendations to use complex technology like Citrix.  It has a Smart Client that needs 850 Mb of free hard disk space and only runs on the Windows 7 platform.  This means only 39% of the world's computers can fully use RightNow CRM.  True cloud products like Google Apps and Norada Solve360 CRM can be used by 99% of the world's computers.

What's strange is that Larry Ellison, CEO of Oracle was an early investor in Salesforce.com and is a majority shareholder in NetSuite.  Larry definitely knows what a 100% web based cloud solution looks like.

Enlighten me with comments please because I'm skeptical how this acquisition will help long term against true cloud computing CRM solutions like Salesforce.com and Norada Solve360 that require nothing more than a web browser on 99% of the world's computers.

Certainly RightNow is more "Cloud" than the rest of Oracle's portfolio.  It is still a big step behind 100% web solutions that allow devices like notebooks, tablets, and smartphones to be portals to the data, which helps people be productive from anywhere, at any time.

True Cloud products allow businesses to spend more time with customers and less time on managing technology.

Interlockit.com team member officially becomes a Google Apps Certified Deployment Specialist

Adoption of Google Apps is accelerating around the world with over 3 million businesses that have gone Google.  The Google partner community has more than doubled in the last year to over 2,500 partners in over 70 countries.

As far as we can tell less than 150 people have passed the Google Apps Certified Deployment Specialist exam.  Interlockit.com is pleased to be able to further differentiate ourselves in the Google Apps Marketplace.

Interlockit.com has successfully migrated over 2,500 users to Google Apps.  Deploying Google Apps is what we love to do!

Does your current provider have any Google Apps Certified Deployment Specialists on staff?

Spam takes another hit: email authentication available to millions of Google Apps customers

Google has been an early and consistent supporter of email authentication technologies, which help ensure senders are who they say they are, and in turn help to curb spam.  Interlockit.com configures a Sender Policy Framework (SPF) record as a standard component of our Google Apps implementations that prevents spammers from sending messages with forged From addresses from your company domain.

On January 6th, 2011 Google made available the ability for Google Apps customers to sign their outgoing messages with DKIM, so that your sent mail is less likely to get caught up in recipients' spam filters.  Think of it as a finger print on your outgoing email that a spammer can't duplicate.  We've tested it for a few weeks and definitely recommend setting this up on all Google Apps accounts.

Google Apps is the first major email platform to offer simple DKIM signing at no extra cost other than the labour to configure it.  Once again the power of the cloud has made it possible to bring this feature to millions of customers quickly and affordably.

It takes an Interlockit.com team member about 30 minutes to configure DKIM on your DNS hosting control panel and on your Google Apps account.

If you are interested in having this feature enabled to ensure that more of your outgoing email reaches its destination  give us a call at (416) 840-6268.

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