Office還是企業最愛，谷歌仍需追趕微軟

????數年前，許多人會質疑谷歌公司（Google）是否有能力銷售企業信得過的應用軟件。而如今，我們完全可以說，谷歌企業應用套件（Google Apps for Business）已成為替代依托于服務器的電子郵件和其他應用程序的可行選擇。正如同蘋果公司（Apple）的iPhone手機已經成為黑莓手機（Blackberries）及其他商務智能手機的可行替代品。

????問問正在參加Atmosphere大會的數百名IT經理就能明白這一點。這次大會在谷歌總部召開，為期兩天，主要針對企業客戶。自從2007年啟動谷歌企業應用套件業務以來，為了贏得首席信息官（CIO）們的青睞，搜索引擎谷歌公司便加大工作力度，吸引客戶向谷歌郵箱（Gmail）、谷歌Docs和谷歌Calendar轉移，增添新特性，并為企業客戶提供更多的支持。（周一，谷歌在Atmosphere云計算大會上宣布，其企業應用套件新增功能包括更強的移動設備管理能力，以及為企業客戶提供全天候電話支持。）

????這些只是谷歌公司在獲得更大企業客戶市場份額道路上進行的初步嘗試，但是谷歌確實取得了不小的進展。谷歌表示，通過其自身的一系列努力，加之行業內更廉價的、基于云技術的產品已是大勢所趨，近年來，成上千萬的企業已經不再使用微軟Exchange電子郵件系統，轉而選擇谷歌企業應用套件。

????當然，轉投谷歌的大部分客戶仍是小企業客戶。要想讓大企業客戶“選擇谷歌”絕非易事——即使專門為他們舉辦類似Atmosphere大會這樣為期兩天的展示會，外加免費點心，也很難奏效。

????為什么吸引大企業客戶如此困難呢？誠然，微軟電子郵件系統價格高昂，但是它們卻已在大企業站穩腳跟。時尚品牌BCBG Max Azria集團首席信息官內德?卡利米在大會上向筆者透露，他們公司的員工習慣微軟電子郵件客戶端Outlook的外觀和感覺。就連谷歌企業應用套件副總裁戴夫?吉魯亞德在與Atmosphere云計算大會記者會成員共進午餐時也坦言，向云技術進軍是一個重大的變遷。然而，這只說明向云技術轉變的壓力在日益增加，而不是說云技術適用于每個人（或每個應用程序）。更重要的是，微軟公司——以及其他競爭對手——也在提供基于云技術的產品，它們不僅在吞噬微軟電子郵件系統的領地，同樣也在挑戰谷歌的企業應用套件。

????盡管如此，谷歌對微軟公司構成的威脅與日俱增，這一點不言而喻?！疽晃粎⒓覣tmosphere云計算大會的CIO稱，2009年，他選擇了谷歌企業應用套件并將此事告知了微軟，之后，他就接到了來自微軟“谷歌對抗”團隊（“Google Compete” team）的電話?！恐劣谖④浌咀孕醒邪l的基于云技術的企業軟件Office 365，要談它的未來發展，現在還為時尚早。

????與此同時，谷歌還在不斷為其企業應用套件增添更多新功能。此前，谷歌曾宣布方案，旨在使Gmail更具社交性，并開發新產品社會網絡工具Google+的企業版，增加更多的安全性能。與谷歌的很多業務相同，企業市場的開拓依然任重而道遠。

????譯者：喬樹靜/汪皓

????A few years back, many doubted Google's ability to sell enterprise-worthy applications. Today, it's safe to say that Google Apps for Business has become a viable alternative to server-based email and other applications, much like Apple's (AAPL) iPhone is now a viable alternative to BlackBerries (RIM) and other enterprise-grade smartphones.

????Just ask the several hundred IT managers currently attending Atmosphere, a two-day gathering for Google's (GOOG) business customers, held at the Googleplex. Since launching Google Apps for Business in 2007, the search company has put a lot of effort into wooing CIOs by making the migration to Gmail, Docs and Calendar as effortless as possible and adding new features and increased support for enterprises. (The latest additions to Google Apps for Business, announced at Atmosphere on Monday, include more mobile device management capabilities and 24/7 phone support for business customers).

????These are all just baby steps along the path of getting significant enterprise market share, but Google has made a lot of progress. According to the company, the result of these efforts and the general trend towards cheaper cloud-based offerings, thousands of businesses have switched from Microsoft (MSFT) Exchange to Google Apps in recent years.

????Of course, the majority of those customers are still small businesses, not large companies. Getting bigger corporate customers to "go Google" isn't easy -- even when you treat them to a two-day event complete with yurt-like demo booths and free snacks.

????Why it proving so difficult? Microsoft's Exchange servers are pricey, but they're also well-entrenched in big businesses. And as Nader Karimi, CIO of fashion house BCBG Max Azria Group, told me at the conference, his company's employees are used to the look and feel of Microsoft's email client, Outlook. In lunch with members of the press at Atmosphere, even Dave Girouard, VP of Google Apps, admitted that moving to the cloud is a big change. And just because there's mounting pressure to move to the cloud doesn't mean it's for everyone (or every application). What's more, Microsoft -- along with other competitors -- has its own cloud-based offering, which could end up not just cannibalizing Exchange but also taking on Google Apps for Business.

????Still, it's clear Google is increasingly becoming a bigger threat to Microsoft (one CIO at Atmosphere said he got a call from a Microsoft "Google Compete" team after he notified them he was switching to Google Apps in 2009). As for Microsoft's own cloud-based business software, Office 365, it's still too early to tell how it will fare.

????In the meantime, Google is adding more and more functionality to its Google Apps for Business. The company has been talking up its plans to make Gmail more social and to develop an enterprise version of its newish social networking tool, Google+, with more security features. Like many things at Google, the enterprise market is still a work in progress.