I was recently involved in a tender bid with a business ready to make the leap from on premise email and collaboration to a cloud based solution. "The prospect is also considering Google" my co-worker heading up the bid told me. As I utilise Google for my personal email and documentation I'm very familiar with the platform and its capabilities. "What does the account management, service & support look like and how will Google help them transition from on premise to the cloud"' I asked. "At this stage they aren't sure, but on the surface the price looks attractive" was the response.

This puzzled me slightly; as it felt in stark contrast to the conversation I had conducted with a customer that very morning. Having been a Star customer for 7 years they too were looking at how their end users could achieve productivity gains and improve internal communication without making new capital investments in hardware and software. They also wanted to know what the three year roadmap and journey that Star would take their business on over the next few years. In parallel, their account manager conducted follow up on recent queries they had been raised with us and was ensuring all actions had been followed up.

It left me thinking about the internal discussions that must be constantly ongoing at Google HQ. "Are we an advertising company, or a service provider?" "Do we invest our resources in innovative advertising vehicles or service and support coupled with a firm product roadmap?" It is certain in my mind that Google will need to answer these questions before gaining the trust of the UK mid-market. 

One thing you can be sure of is that their presence in the market continues to promote awareness of software delivered as a service and this can only be viewed as a good thing by those businesses wanting to maintain a competitive edge. Without incurring or investing in huge upfront costs and ongoing maintenance.

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