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The Google Apps Marketplace: The Next "iTunes for Business?"
When Salesforce.com launched its AppExchange, Forbes magazine said it was like an "iTunes for Business." Now, Google Apps, which already offers free word processing, calendar management and other "office/productivity" apps, has the Google Apps Marketplace. Applications for CRM, project management and multiple other functions are already available, complete with user reviews and free trials in many cases. Will the Google Apps Marketplace convince your company to try Google Apps, or to expand Google Apps use? Why or why not?
Best Answer
There is not a one size fits all for SME and Enterprise. I am assuming actual functions here. MS Dynamics Suite was for this purpose and has been struggling getting the scale, customization, pricing mix right due to this reason.
For simple "Office" apps, this is not a problem (e.g. email), and expect Google will make gains here (it already has). But for business functions like sales, marketing and service the supporting solutions are not uniform and depend on various factors, like industry vertical, size, and product. I have not seen much from Google targeting these functions yet. Salesforce, Eloqua, RightNow, etc. are in this space. And Oracle SAP are still holding on to the Enterprise (although the SME players are moving up the ladder).
My take is that it will become more composite in the both SME and Enterprise and you will see some use Google APIs others Salesforce APIs, etc. on a case by case basis as part of the IT strategy. Others with leverage SaaS outsourcing companies that focus on a particular function like Zendesk.
Each will depend on the business and IT strategy and the market context driving it.
Wow, very impressive collection of apps. The key for me is finding the best app for each activity and having easy integration. I look forward to trying them out.
in an ideal world, google apps marketplace will give small businesses enterprise class business applications - we'll see...
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Great question Michael. I'm seeing more application developers really digging into Google APIs. Zoho has tapped into it to connect its CRM app to Google Apps. Small Business CRM service provider BatchBlue was part of the launch. In fact many of the founding companies of The Small Business Web initiative (http://thesmallbusinessweb.com) have offerings, including MailChimp, FreshBooks, Shoeboxed & GetSatisfaction. Intuit is as well.
I see this as a definite accelerator for small businesses in particular to use these services. Cost and complexity is becoming less of a deterrent, and actually many companies will have to use these kinds of services to more effectively compete. Those who ignore these developments really put their business at a severe disadvantage going forward.