Google Data

Posted by Joshua Lowcock, Head of Commercial Platforms and Products for News Limited

(Cross-posted on the Official Google Australia Blog)

Editor’s note: Today’s guest blogger is Joshua Lowcock, Head of Commercial Platforms and Products for News Limited, an Australian media company. See what other organizations that have gone Google have to say.

News Limited is one of Australia’s largest media companies, spanning newspapers, magazines, online, and subscription TV. We publish over 140 online and printed newspapers in major Australian cities including Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, and Perth, as well as in suburban areas.

Classified advertising is a key revenue stream across all our markets, but traditionally booking and billing classifieds had been a manual and time-consuming process. We wanted to implement a solution that would allow customers to serve themselves by placing ads online.

Google App Engine has enabled customers to do just that. We chose Google App Engine as the application because it is easy to build, easy to maintain and simple to scale as the user base and data storage grows. Functionalities within the Google App Engine environment, such as Google BigQuery, have also been useful. We can do an in-depth analysis of our ads and item pricing, as well as provide an internal reporting tool, all using BigQuery.

The end result is a self-service, production booking and billing system – www.traderoo.com.au – which we have developed on Google App Engine. It’s proving to be a real winner for both our business and our customers. It’s fundamentally changed the way customers engage with our company, creating a more usable experience and superb responsiveness. It’s easy to use, and gives more control over ad content, as well as the ability to publish ads online immediately. Online ads are free, while print ads are optional and require a small fee, but complement online ads by extending the advertiser’s reach.

When customers book ads using the Traderoo website, they get automatic email notification from the platform that tells them how their advertisement is performing. Traderoo is optimised for PC, laptop, smartphone and tablet, so the browser and ad placement remain consistent, no matter what device our customers are using.

The real advantage for us is that our classified business has achieved faster time to market, lower costs and less overheads in the form of call centre time and manual data entry. The site has been a huge success, and we look forward to continuing to use Google App Engine as we develop Traderoo further.

Posted by Jeffrey Noe, CEO at My Receptionist

Editor’s note: In honor of National Receptionist’s Day, our guest blogger is Jeffrey Noe, CEO at My Receptionist, which provides virtual receptionists and front office support services for small businesses. See what other organizations that have gone Google have to say.

Receptionists aren’t just the welcome committee for your doctor’s office – they’re the directors of first impressions for companies everywhere, from one-person e-commerce start-ups to global manufacturing corporations. My Receptionist provides virtual receptionists for small businesses who realize the importance of having someone on the front line but don’t have the resources to hire someone full-time. Our 65 employees across two offices provide phone answering services and front office support for our customers, so they can focus on what they do best: growing their business.

In our line of work, a technology hangup is on par with a dropped call, and in 2011, we realized it was time for an upgrade. We had a jumble of Microsoft products that didn’t work well together and made our day-to-day operations difficult. We needed a new platform that required fewer IT resources and helped our employees and clients communicate, collaborate and schedule better together. We experimented with Microsoft Office 365, but the pricing felt unnecessarily complicated and it relied too heavily on additional software to be the fully baked cloud solution we wanted. When we tried Google Apps, we immediately knew it was the right fit: not only was it cost-effective and easy to understand, but we could tell that Google had a more developed product and vision.

While the ease and popularity of Gmail was a key driver in our switch to Google Apps, Google Docs and Drive have completely changed the way we collaborate internally and with our clients. Before, we put our training material in plastic binders, which would then be sent out to 70 people, including clients. Every time we needed to make a change – even to one page – we would need to reprint 70 copies of each page and send new binders out. You couldn’t help but sigh heavily when you had to update a piece of information or update a process, because it meant another trip to the printer. Now, with Google Docs, the process, printing and need for mailing disappeared entirely. We just go online, make the change in our doc, and rest assured that everyone has the same up-to-date training manual for immediate access.

Google+ Hangouts have also become a mainstay of our day. Every morning our executive team, which is split between our two offices, huddles on a Hangout. If someone is travelling, they’re patched in and don’t miss a thing. Hangouts are also tightly integrated with Google Calendar, so our meetings are just one click away.

Our virtual receptionists are the first line of contact between a lot of small businesses and their customers, so it’s essential that we give our employees the resources to stay up to date and be knowledgeable about our clients. Our receptionists may not give out candy or cold water to the folks they interact with, but with the help of Google Apps, they have the tools to make our clients – and their customers – happy.

Posted by Muzammil Esmail, Product Manager, Google Apps

Every day, millions of businesses, schools and government agencies rely on Google Apps to get their work done. And each of these organizations has an administrator (or a team of admins) responsible for tasks like creating new accounts, managing mobile devices, and specifying exactly which products and features their employees can use.

Starting today, we’re introducing a few changes to the Google Admin console to make it easier for admins to do their jobs:

• Accomplish tasks faster: Navigating to the right setting should be fast, and with new logical groupings admins can find settings like delegated administration right under the Admin Roles control.
• Customize the Admin console: Drag and drop the controls you need into the place that makes sense — and remove the ones you don’t need.
• Get to the Admin console more easily: There is no need to remember a long URL like google.com/a/domain.com or search for the “manage domain” link in Gmail. Just type the new URL (admin.google.com) and log in directly to the Admin console.

These changes to the Admin console will be rolling out to existing customers over the next few weeks. To learn more about the new Admin console, visit the what’s new site or contact our support team that is available by phone or email 24/7.

Chat in Docs and Slides has a new look similar to what you’re used to in Gmail. You can now start a group chat with just one click. Simply select the new chat button at the top right and a chat box will appear, making it easy for you to quickly message everyone who is in the file. Additionally, if collaborators or viewers have an active Google+ profile, you will see their profile picture on top instead of just their name. This feature will be available in Sheets soon.

Note: Disabling chat in the Admin panel will disable it in Docs.

Release track:
Scheduled release

Editions included: 
Google Apps for Business, Education, and Government

For more information:
http://googleenterprise.blogspot.com.au/2013/04/bringing-people-together-in-drive.html

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Starting today, Gmail’s migration tool for messages and contacts is being removed. This tool was primarily used by new Gmail account holders who wished to import mail and contacts from another email provider into their Gmail accounts. We are exploring new long-term solutions, but in the meantime users can still import mail and contacts to their Gmail accounts. Messages can be imported using Mail Fetcher and Contacts can be imported from CSV files.

Editions included: 
Google Apps for Business, Education, and Government

For more information:
http://googleappsupdates.blogspot.com/2012/10/import-emails-and-contacts-from-other.html
https://support.google.com/mail/answer/164640
http://support.google.com/a/bin/answer.py?answer=1041297

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Dates and times within emails are now lightly underlined. You can click them to schedule events at those dates and times without ever leaving Gmail. When you click on one of these underlined dates, you will be able to preview your schedule for the day and change the title, date or time of the event. You can then add the event to your calendar by clicking on “Add to calendar”. In addition, the calendar event will include a link back to the original email so you always have context.

Note: This is only available to people who have their preferred language set to English.

Release track:
Rapid release

Editions included: 
Google Apps for Business, Education, and Government

For more information:
http://googleenterprise.blogspot.com/2013/05/add-events-to-google-calendar-from-gmail.html

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Posted by Olivier Lacoste, Head of IT, Logistics, and Sales Shops at Pierre Hermé Paris

Editor’s note: Today’s guest blogger is Olivier Lacoste, Head of IT at Pierre Hermé Paris, a French pastry company. See what other organizations that have gone Google have to say.

Being a French pastry chef is a little like being a Kenyan long-distance runner or Brazilian soccer player – you follow a long line of those before you who have been the very best at their respective trades. Pierre Hermé became a celebrity by being the youngest person to be named France’s Pastry Chef of the Year. Mostly, though, people really love his macarons.

Today, Pierre Hermé Paris® has boutiques in France, United Kingdom, Japan, United Arab Emirates and soon in China with our 450 employees making and selling French pastries, macarons, ice cream, candy, coffee, tea, jam and more. We’re growing rapidly as consumers around the world try and appreciate our products. As the head of IT, it’s my job to make sure we have a technology solution to facilitate that growth.

We chose Google Apps because it gave us the most up-to-date technology to work with and was scalable for our internationally expanding workforce. We found that some of our employees were using Google tools on the side, so we decided to roll it out to the entire company with the help of Google Apps Reseller Cirruseo. We were up and running in less time than it takes to make one of our signature chocolate macaroons. We’ve been happy with the way Google Apps lets us do things that weren’t possible before. For example, Pierre Hermé will record a video of himself baking a difficult pastry and store it on Google Drive so our bakers around the world can learn from him while at work or on their mobile devices.

As any pastry chef will tell you, collaboration is key. Pierre Hermé Paris employees need a technology solution that lets them share ideas and recipes easily from anywhere on the globe. Working together on documents may be less sweet, but it’s no less important to our business than working together to produce one of our signature macarons.

Posted by Boris Khvostichenko, Product Manager, Google Calendar

(Cross-posted on the Gmail blog.)

If you do a lot of scheduling over email, it’s now a little bit easier to create events directly from your Gmail. Starting today, dates and times within emails are lightly underlined: click them to schedule that conference call or lunch date without ever leaving Gmail.

When you click on one of these underlined dates, you’ll be able to preview your schedule for the day and change the title, date or time of the event. Clicking “Add to Calendar” will do exactly that — add the event to your calendar, and for extra convenience, the calendar event will include a link back to the original email.

This new feature is rolling out over the next week to Rapid Release domains with the English (US) language. We’ll be adding other languages soon, so stay tuned.

Chat in Docs and Slides has a new look similar to what you’re used to in Gmail. You can now start a group chat with just one click. Simply select the new chat button at the top right and a chat box will appear, making it easy for you to quickly message everyone who is in the file. Additionally, if collaborators or viewers have an active Google+ profile, you will see their profile picture on top instead of just their name. This feature will be available in Sheets soon.

Note: Disabling chat in the Admin panel will disable it in Docs.

Release track:
Scheduled release

Release date:
May 7, 2013

Editions included: 
Google Apps for Business, Education, and Government

For more information:
http://googleenterprise.blogspot.com.au/2013/04/bringing-people-together-in-drive.html

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Posted by Vidya Nagarajan, Product Manager, Chrome for Business

With easy personalization and built-in security, Chrome devices were made for sharing. The new Managed Public Sessions feature delivers a highly customizable experience for both customers and employees without requiring a login.

Because Chromebooks are low cost, easy to set up and manage, and require virtually no maintenance, Chromebooks with Managed Public Sessions make perfect shared kiosks. You could use a Chromebook with Managed Public Sessions to:

• Order out-of-stock items online while at a retail store 
• Search for books and browse the web at the library 
• Update machine and inventory info from the manufacturing floor 
• Access the company portal and update HR info from the employee break room 
• Catch up on work in a hotel business center

Administrators can easily customize any Chrome device to be a public session device using the web-based management console. The features that you’ll find in the console include the ability to set the default sites and apps a user sees at login, custom brand the homepage, block sites and apps that shouldn’t be accessed, configure device inputs and outputs, and set timed log-out sessions. For security reasons, public session data is cleared on logout so the next user starts fresh.

We’ve tested public sessions with a few customers and here’s the initial feedback:

• Dillards, Inc. – “We have many more employees than computers at our retail stores, so being able to share devices is key. With Managed Public Sessions, employees can walk up to any machine and get immediate access to their corporate email and important internal systems. And since Managed Public Sessions wipes all data at logout, it supports our PCI compliance requirements.”
  – Woody Chin, CIO, Dillard’s

• Multnomah County Library – “Our Community Chromebooks program was funded by a grant from the Mt. Hood Cable Regulatory Commission. We have about 160 Chromebooks in 19 neighborhood libraries that patrons can check out for 2 hours of in-library use. The program’s been hugely popular – in the last year, we’ve loaned Chromebooks over 30,000 times. With Managed Public Sessions, we can get patrons online and productive faster, by pre-configuring the devices with a terms of service agreement, the library homepage, and popular apps like Google Maps, Evernote, and the Kindle Cloud Reader. Public Sessions also makes the program easier for library staff to support, as the session count-down timer will help get Chromebooks turned in on time, and preinstalling the most popular apps will reduce setup questions.”
  – Lucien Kress, Project Manager, Multnomah County Library

• Hyatt San Francisco – “I’ve been running Chromeboxes with Managed Public Sessions in employee break areas. We really like Chromeboxes’ speedy browsing, easy management and security. Employees use Chromeboxes to access Hyatt payroll system, request time off, and stay up to date on internal news. They can also access personal email and social sites during breaks and I don’t need to worry about viruses and malware infecting Chromeboxes.”
  – Victor Povzner, Sr. IT Director, Hyatt Regency San Francisco

Learn more on the Chromebook site or contact us if you have any follow up questions.

Posted by Tom Muraca, Director of Marketing at Katz Americas

Editor’s note: Our guest blogger is Tom Muraca, Director of Marketing at Katz Americas, the largest manufacturer of beverage coasters in North and South America. See what other organizations that have gone Google have to say.

Katz Americas may not be a household name, but when you put a drink down at a tavern or restaurant, our product is probably under your glass. We’re one of the biggest manufacturers of drink coasters in the United States, with over 100 employees across our two facilities in Buffalo, New York and Johnson City, Tennessee.

We weren’t always such a large company – we grew quickly through a handful of mergers over the last few years – and when we finally had a chance to come up for air, we realized our technology hadn’t kept up with us. We were stumbling along with a fractured email and collaboration platform built around Microsoft Exchange 2003 and a few file-sharing servers. It was expensive and unreliable, especially for a company without a dedicated IT department. Upgrading our hosted system didn’t make financial sense, and Microsoft Office 365 didn’t win our team over. Google Apps did both, and its stability and security features were especially attractive. We decided to make the switch to Google Apps in September of 2011, and with help from Dito, our Google Apps Reseller, we were up and running by January of 2012.

Google Apps has helped us streamline and modernize our day-to-day work. By using Google Drive, we’ve cut the average time it takes to deliver an estimate and mocks to a customer from one week to just three days. Instead of sending different versions of huge files around by email, we create a single shared folder on Drive and house each proof there. That way, we can easily share, edit and collaborate on our work as a team in less than half the time it took before.

The Gmail and Google Drive mobile apps have changed how we interact with potential customers and sell our product when we’re on the road. Now, I can pull up a design on my phone while I’m speaking to a customer at an industry event or even create a rough prototype on the spot. I can also add their information to my contacts, get a quote started for them immediately, and follow up via email within minutes of finishing our conversation. Google Apps lets us give our customers on-the-spot, personal service, and that gives us a huge advantage over the competition.

Google Apps has been the keystone of our revamped company strategy at a time of significant change. The way I see it, it’s also just the beginning: our employees are constantly finding new features and sharing their favorite use cases, so I can only imagine the benefits we’ll see a year from now. In the meantime, we’ll get back to focusing on our core business – protecting tabletops from condensation and spills with surfboard-shaped coasters (and some normal shaped coasters, too).

Chat in Docs and Slides has a new look similar to what you’re used to in Gmail. You can now start a group chat with just one click. Simply select the new chat button at the top right and a chat box will appear, making it easy for you to quickly message everyone who is in the file. Additionally, if collaborators or viewers have an active Google+ profile, you will see their profile picture on top instead of just their name. This feature will be available in Sheets soon.

Note: Disabling chat in the Admin panel will disable it in Docs.

Release track:
Rapid release

Editions included:
Google Apps for Business, Education, and Government

For more information:
http://googleenterprise.blogspot.com.au/2013/04/bringing-people-together-in-drive.html

whatsnew.googleapps.com
Get these product update alerts by email
Subscribe to the RSS feed of these updates

Posted by Eric Zhang, Drive Software Engineer

(Cross-posted on the Google Drive blog.)

More often than not, you need to work with others to get things done. Today, working together in Drive is getting even easier with new profile pictures and one-click group chat.

Now when you open a file in Drive, you’ll see the profile pictures of other viewers at the top instead of just their names, making it easy for you to do a quick scan of who else is in the file. You can hover over a photo to see details about the viewer and add them to your circles on Google+ — all without ever leaving Drive.

In addition, you can now start a group chat with just one click. Simply select the new chat button at the top right and a chat box will appear, making it easy for you to quickly message everyone in the file. 

These new features will roll out over the next few days to Rapid Release domains, and we’ll be adding support for more file types (like Google Sheets) soon, so stay tuned.