The Right Mix of Office Apps Used Through the Right Devices is the Key to Enhance Efficiency in SMEs

We spoke to Sebastien Marotte – VP and Global Head for Google Apps For Work to understand Google’s new and innovative offerings to enhance office productivity within SMEs

In today’s office environment, most of the work-related apps are moving towards mobile devices. And not just because of the mobility factor but also because of the flexibility mobile apps offer to professionals working in organisations. Google Apps for Work is one such set of cloud-based tools that helps you and your team collaborate and get things done from anywhere, and on virtually any device.

“We started ten years ago with Google for Work. The objective was to leverage existing Google infrastructure and with the latest developments in the mobile space we further modified our offers to support mobile apps. This helped us to re-invent ways of collaboration and develop a strong connect between collaboration and innovation,” said Marotte.

Google Apps for Work works in tandem with the Google Cloud network. “Two million businesses are using Google Apps for Work and about 5,000 businesses are joining each day. However, we realise that not a whole lot of companies are ready for cloud. The future of this business lies in how much you are equipped to take advantage of the whole ecosystem. Uber, Airbnb are some examples of businesses that are using this solution to maximize business advantage,” he continued.

Intelligent software is crucial to success in the mobile device ecosystem

Machine learning is at the core of the latest developments in mobile app technology. “You would be aware that Google Search is much smarter now while Google Photos learns by itself to improve user experience. Within the email system, the calendar system needs to be automated and sSome of the features enterprises could look forward to are date proposals being changed through calendars,” he added. Google Apps for Work has solutions designed to suit all industries. They offer a complete web experience so you can easily buy an offering online.

How Google Apps for Work is Impacting Organisations

To bring new products and improve collaboration amongst geographically spread out teams and also to attract new talent, digital transformation is a key focus area for large manufacturing companies. Most organisations in India want to replicate Google’s business processes as they are conducted in MountainView, California. This is where Google Apps for Work come in. We also have clients that work on the low maintenance, low cost business model. For instance, the largest ecommerce companies such as Flipkart, Snapdeal, Oyo Rooms, etc. In addition, most of the banking, healthcare, and financial companies are looking at moving to the cloud for their productivity work.

— Sebastien Marotte – VP and Global Head for Google Apps

“We have two million global customers that are small companies with 100-1000 employees. Most are locked into enterprise vendor agreements, so it gets difficult to migrate their solutions. To alleviate this, in Oct 2015 a new program was launched for such companies wherein we offered them help with the digital transformation program and hand hold them till the end of the contract.”

One of the key requirements for their success is to provide the best device experience to consumers. They need to be agnostic across iOS and Android, and the latter is very popular in the consumer space. To further expand the experience on Android devices they have launched a new OS, Android for Work, and also the Geo platform that provides maps into the enterprise space. Android for Work contains your work and personal environments as separate compartments. To ensure security, it comes with MDM software that helps to wipe out enterprise data whenever a device is lost.

SMEs are a Key Focus Area

For companies with less than 100 employees they provide services that range from mail, domain hosting and website creation. They work with partners to offer customised solutions. “We have two million global customers that are small companies with 100-1000 employees. Most are locked into enterprise vendor agreements, so it gets difficult to migrate their solutions. To alleviate this, in Oct 2015 a new program was launched for such companies wherein we offered them help with the digital transformation program and hand hold them till the end of the contract. Over 200,000 customers globally have signed up for this program,” informed Marotte.

Over the next two years, we want 20 mn SMEs online. In India, traditional SMEs could save 70% in infrastructure costs by moving apps to the cloud through Google Apps. Also, productivity and collaboration are enhanced through apps for emails, chat, docs, etc. The affordability is good for SMEs with solutions starting at Rs 1,500 per user per suite.

The way forward

“More machine learning concepts need to be imbibed in our apps and we also strive to provide more controls over access to enterprise apps. Google Plus shall be made more enterprise friendly, and more automation shall be imbibed in what we are doing,” he avered.

“IoT integration, more apps for mobile workforce , more automation of mundane tasks and the ability to successfully resolve big queries on Google are part of our to-do lists. We also strive to move Chromebooks to the enterprise space. They should be super light and super secure so that even if you lose your device, your data remains secure in the cloud,” he concluded.