SMECorner 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 - Interviewed by Adeesh Sharma

n today’s office environment, most of the work- Machine learning is at the core of the latest related apps are moving towards mobile devices. developments in mobile app technology. “You would And not just because of the mobility factor but be aware that Google Search is much smarter now Ialso because of the flexibility mobile apps offer to while Google Photos learns by itself to improve user professionals working in organisations. Google Apps for experience. Within the email system, the calendar Work is one such set of cloud-based tools that helps you system needs to be automated and sSome of the and your team collaborate and get things done from features enterprises could look forward to are date anywhere, and on virtually any device. proposals being changed through calendars,” he added. “We started ten years ago with Google for Work. The Google Apps for Work has solutions designed to suit all objective was to leverage existing Google infrastructure industries. They offer a complete web experience so you and with the latest developments in the mobile space can easily buy an offering online. we further modified our offers to support mobile apps. This helped us to re-invent ways of collaboration and How Google Apps for Work is Impacting develop a strong connect between collaboration and Organisations innovation,” said Marotte. To bring new products and improve collaboration Google Apps for Work works in tandem with the amongst geographically spread out teams and also Google Cloud network. “Two million businesses are to attract new talent, digital transformation is a key using Google Apps for Work and about 5,000 businesses focus area for large manufacturing companies. Most are joining each day. However, we realise that not a organisations in want to replicate Google’s whole lot of companies are ready for cloud. The future of business processes as they are conducted in this business lies in how much you are equipped to take MountainView, California. This is where Google Apps advantage of the whole ecosystem. Uber, Airbnb are for Work come in. We also have clients that work on some examples of businesses that are using this solution the low maintenance, low cost business model. For to maximize business advantage,” he continued. instance, the largest ecommerce companies such as Intelligent software is crucial to success in the mobile , Snapdeal, , etc. In addition, most device ecosystem of the banking, healthcare, and financial companies

“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.” — Sebastien Marotte – VP and Global Head for Google Apps

52 PCQuest JULY 2016 pcquest.com twitter.com/pcquest facebook.com/pcquest linkd.in/pcquest [email protected] are looking at moving to the cloud for their and hand hold them till the end of the contract. Over productivity work. 200,000 customers globally have signed up for this One of the key requirements for their success is to program,” informed Marotte. provide the best device experience to consumers. They Over the next two years, we want 20 mn SMEs need to be agnostic across iOS and Android, and the online. In India, traditional SMEs could save 70% in latter is very popular in the consumer space. To further infrastructure costs by moving apps to the cloud expand the experience on Android devices they have through Google Apps. Also, productivity and launched a new OS, Android for Work, and also the Geo collaboration are enhanced through apps for emails, platform that provides maps into the enterprise space. chat, docs, etc. The affordability is good for SMEs with Android for Work contains your work and personal solutions starting at Rs 1,500 per user per suite. environments as separate compartments. To ensure security, it comes with MDM software that helps to The way forward wipe out enterprise data whenever a device is lost. “More machine learning concepts need to be imbibed in our apps and we also strive to provide SMEs are a Key Focus Area more controls over access to enterprise apps. Google For companies with less than 100 employees they Plus shall be made more enterprise friendly, and provide services that range from mail, domain hosting more automation shall be imbibed in what we are and website creation. They work with partners to offer doing,” he avered. customised solutions. “We have two million global “IoT integration, more apps for mobile workforce , customers that are small companies with 100-1000 more automation of mundane tasks and the ability to employees. Most are locked into enterprise vendor successfully resolve big queries on Google are part of agreements, so it gets difficult to migrate their our to-do lists. We also strive to move Chromebooks to solutions. To alleviate this, in Oct 2015 a new program the enterprise space. They should be super light and was launched for such companies wherein we offered super secure so that even if you lose your device, your them help with the digital transformation program data remains secure in the cloud,” he concluded.

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pcquest.com twitter.com/pcquest facebook.com/pcquest linkd.in/pcquest [email protected] JULY 2016 PCQuest 53