Tag: google

When it comes to Google Apps, I’m certifiable

Back in mid-2007 I deployed my first instance of Google Apps, replacing a Microsoft Exchange 2003 server. It was a controversial choice back then — Google Apps was still pretty new and it wasn’t yet clear whether Google was going to stick with the platform and build it out. But there were several deciding factors that pushed me to an Apps deployment:

  • I was working at a nonprofit, so Google Apps was free for us; worst case I could always fall back to the in-house system
  • Our Microsoft Exchange 2003 server was constantly running out of space and was a pain to backup
  • We lived under a monstrous waterfall of spam that required a special appliance outside the Exchange box that worked well but was costly
  • Our Internet connection was relatively slow and outrageously expensive, so handling all the mail traffic in-house was painful, especially when the in-house web site was what we really wanted to share with the world, not our email system
  • Our users wanted to send and receive larger and larger files via email, which only strained all of the above factors further

We made the switch, I uploaded a bunch of mail using Google’s then-primitive migration tools,  and I put everyone onto the web-based interface — no Outlook allowed. We did trainings and I spent a lot of time helping users get acclimated to the new way of doing things. This was before drag-and-drop email attachments in Gmail. It was before full compatibility with external calendar invitations. It was before Chrome.

And I was immediately hooked.

Why Go Google?

From an IT perspective, this Google Apps thing was awesome. There were no servers to own, nothing to back up, nothing to manage — aside from creating and deleting accounts. The users had far more space than they’d ever had (7GB at the time) and far more space than I could have ever offered locally at a reasonable price. The system was accessible everywhere, and no matter where you got your mail or looked at your calendar, it functioned the same way. And, as a nonprofit, it was all free! We even started using Google Docs right away, sharing selected spreadsheet data with remote workers and volunteers, allowing for real-time collaboration that at the time was mind-blowingly simple yet powerful.

Since then the Google Apps platform has matured with better features, a more homogenized interface in the apps, better administration tools, more reporting, more granular controls, and great (paid) add-ons for email archiving and spam control. And since then I’ve deployed Google Apps 4 more times, not to mention personal use. My most recent migration was last year, again dropping Microsoft Exchange 2003 and Outlook to go all-cloud all the time.

And then there was this past weekend.

Getting Certified

After managing and evangelizing Google Apps all these years, I stumbled across a certification program for Google Apps nerds like me: the Google Apps Certified Deployment Specialist. So I dug through the Study Guide, re-read a lot of stuff I knew, learned a few new tricks Google has developed in the last couple of years, and paid my testing fee.

The weird part was the testing method. Rather than send you to a local testing center — where you might sit for Microsoft or Citrix or VMware or other vendor exams — this one is done at home or in your office. You can take the test anywhere you have a live Internet connection, a Windows or Mac machine, and a special USB webcam they make you buy. Total cost is about the same as those other exams, but you can schedule it on weekends in evenings and take it at home. They proctor the exam through the webcam and special software.

It worked great. The only thing I was “corrected” on during the exam was the fact that I started to read some of the questions out loud, to puzzle them out audibly. That’s verboten, probably because they fear you’d read the questions out loud so you could either record the questions (and give them away to others wanting to take the exam) or ask someone else nearby to provide an answer. It’s too bad, because I like to “talk out” technical solutions. Oh, well.

61 questions after starting, I had passed the exam, so now I’m certified! It’s the first major cert I’ve picked up since the “good old days” of Windows NT 4 and Lotus Notes and Domino. And it’s fun to have a Google certification, perhaps because it’s so rare. My certificate was numbered “1298”, which suggests there were less than 1,300 people certified when I took the exam. That’s cool — I’m in a group smaller than my high school census (except we’re all certified Google Apps pros!).

Can you use Google Apps in a healthcare environment?

I may need to address this further in a future post, but the short answer is yes. People freak out about HIPAA (as they well should) but the key thing to consider is how you use your email system. Bottom line: If you don’t store or share PHI (protected health information) in your email system, then HIPAA rules don’t apply. And for those that are using email systems (of any kind) to share or transmit patient data, I have a question: Are you out of your mind? Email is a promiscuous platform by design — it’ll “sleep” with anyone and it’s 1 degree away from every email account worldwide — so why would you ever push patient information through it? If it helps, I’ve actually addressed the Apps/HIPAA discussion elsewhere before.

Sidebar: I may also have to write a post someday (really a rant) about email footers with lots of legal language in them — a silly practice that has no force of law behind it. If you want to put in a “please don’t share this” message down there, that’s cool, but stop trying to create unilateral contracts with your footers — that’s not a thing.

All that said, I do think Google needs to rethink their stance on signing HIPAA Business Associate Agreements (they won’t sign them). They either need to start signing or they need to post a definitive position paper on HIPAA issues related to Google Apps. Microsoft has shown a willingness to sign BAAs for Office 365 services, which makes their service more attractive, despite their downtime problems. Google has done a good job addressing the overall security of Google Apps, but they need to go a step further, to assuage the fears of healthcare executives and Boards that don’t understand technology very well.

What’s next?

For now I’m a happy Google Apps administrator, still learning, still sharing tips with users new to the platform. Oh, and I’m a Certified Deployment Specialist, of course! So if you’ve got questions about going Google in your healthcare environment (or any business, really) just let me know. I can answer some questions in the comments or we can take the conversation offline.

How about a Chromebox for patient web access?

In the run-up to building our new health center in Anchorage, we had plans to buy and deploy kiosk-style computers in the facility. These would be made available for patients to access a patient portal or our web site. But three things got in the way:

  • True kiosk hardware that’s hardened against public tampering is very expensive, and we needed other stuff more
  • We hadn’t yet launched a patient portal, so the value was diminished
  • Configuring, deploying, managing, and supporting kiosk PCs is a hassle we didn’t want eating up valuable IT staff time

So no kiosk PCs for us. At least not yet. Someday… someday…

But you? Maybe you’re ready to make a few Internet PCs available for the public to use in your facility, but it needs to be safe and low-impact. How about trying out a Chromebox as a great alternative to a locked-down Windows or Linux PC?

Running Chrome OS, the Chromebox (like the Chromebook) is basically a stripped-down custom Linux that runs a Google Chrome browser and a few plugins (like Flash) that makes the web work fine without all the Windows cruft. It also retails for just $330. It auto-updates to the latest Chrome build every so often, staying current both in features and security. If you haven’t used Chrome OS lately, you may not know that it now includes a Guest mode that doesn’t save any information between user sessions. I’ve been a Chromebook user on and off since last summer and I like the OS for a lot of web work.

Why mention all this now? Well, Samsung is releasing a revised Chromebox soon, as reported yesterday: Meet Samsung’s new Chromebox, same as the old Chromebox (Updated).

However, this news comes at a time when Chrome OS devices are largely unavailable. The new ARM-based 11″ Chromebook is sold out as of this writing — and it sold out pretty much at launch back in November. The Chromebox is now only available used through Amazon, and is sold out at Staples, sold out at TigerDirect, sold out everywhere. Google and Samsung have not announced when Chromeboxes will be available again — but you know they’re coming, given the redesign.

Whenever you get your Chromebox going, you’ll need to bring your own monitor, keyboard, and mouse. And you might need a kiosk or desk. Finally you might also want to get a Kensington lock to tie down the Chromebox.

While you’re waiting for Chrome OS device stock to appear, consider a few resources. First up, a review video from mid-2012 when the major revamp of Chromebooks and Chromeboxes came out. Some things have changed then in the OS since this video was shot, but on the whole this is a good intro:

The written review at The Verge is also good.

Meanwhile, there’s yet another alternative if you want an Internet PC for the public without the hassle of rolling your own Windows or Ubuntu box. HP now makes the sexily-named HP Passport 1912nm 18.5-inch Internet Monitor. It’s a custom Linux build that puts users into a browser space with no configuration options. One wonders how serious HP is about this product (although the same could be said about Google, really). But the good news? Just $200 gets you the screen, the OS, keyboard, and mouse all in one box.

If you’re using Chrome OS devices in your healthcare organization, I’d love to hear about it.

ICYMI: Google’s 2012 year-in-review videos

As a Google Apps administrator and user (I converted our health center to Google Apps early in 2012 and have converted other nonprofits in the past) and an enthusiastic user of many Google services, I appreciate them putting together this pair of year-end videos as just a little memento of what we’re leaving behind in 2012.

The first video is serious, covering major news and cultural events of the last year. Notably absent from the video is any reference to the Newtown massacre, because the video was compiled too early.

The second is hilarious, gathering major YouTube stars to do humorous covers of the two big ear worm musical numbers of 2012: “Gangnam Style” and “Call Me Maybe” with copious references to major videos from the year.

See ya later, 2012.

Comment on “How sticky is Android?”

If you’re not reading Horace Dediu’s asymco, you’re missing out on the best mobile systems analysis and numbers in the business. I took the time to comment on his recent How sticky is Android article and I’m reprinting here for the record.

I appreciate the “sunk cost” notion [of smartphone stickiness], but I think for most users in most cases, that’s a non-issue beyond any given 2-year period. When the phone costs $100 to $300 subsidized but your monthly cost is already $75+, the hardware cost is not a barrier to switching. In fact, anyone that doesn’t upgrade their phone — and posisbly switch platforms — at the turn of their contract is leaving money on the table, based on the way carrier contracts work today. I routinely talk with friends whose contracts are coming up and they usually consider their options. Some are loyal to a platform, but most aren’t.

What seems to create loyalty or stickiness are only a few factors, and rarely are all at play for any single user:

  1. some number of platform-specific apps that the user considers critical to smartphone value
  2. a large number of platform-specific apps or media on which the user spent a lot of money and wants to retain that value
  3. direct ownership experience with both iOS and Android, after which the user has made a choice and plans to stick with it (so far, iOS is winning in this category amongst my peers)
  4. irrational love of or hatred of either iOS or Android based on emotional criteria (generally Android wins in this category because that torch burns particularly bright, similar to the way some people support Linux)

By the way, on #3, there hasn’t been enough time for most people to have owned both platforms yet. The first true smartphone was the iPhone in mid-2007. Android with comparable features didn’t come until much later. We’re only at the opening of 2011 — only 3.5 years into the iPhone and 2.5 or less into Android. Even if you bought an iPhone in July 2007 and bought an Android in July 2009, only this year would you be eligible to switch back. That’s not enough competitive time to draw conclusions yet on stickiness.

Search Generation

This ad may not make sense to older viewers. But to Generation X and below, I can assure you this is how we live much of our lives today. Every physical phone book I’ve received in the last 5 years has gone straight into the trash or recycling. And if your business isn’t on the web, it doesn’t exist.

You know what they say: Location, Location, Location!

via youtube.com

I remember talking to IT pals of mine 5 years ago about how location-based information was going to be the Next Big Thing. It took 5 years, but we’re finally here.

Public service media can use location, too. Indeed, as creators, conveners and curators of media that’s focused on communities in specific locations, this stuff will be huge.

If we get out of the studio and get into the community, that is.

Advice: Develop a digital media offense, not defense

Great interview with Ken Auletta on topics covered in his forthcoming book.

“More than a few traditional media executives fervently believe Google aims to conquer the world. By obsessing about Google’s ‘evil’ intentions they spend too much time playing defense and not enough time figuring out their own digital offense.”

Hat tip to @matthewfelling for the find.

Learning Google Wave

Google Wave is all the rage. Not sure what it’s about? Here are the 2 things you can review to become an expert (without actually getting an account):

Google Wave Intro by Epipheo

A quick-and-dirty explanation of what some of Google Wave can be. Very popular video from the last couple of days on the social networks.

Google Wave Intro from Google – May 2009

A very long introduction, but it’s very complete and fully geeky for those that are interested.

Brief update… and a question

I’ve been remiss in writing for Gravity Medium lately, due to a bunch of things going on in my paid professional life.

We’re still in the midst of a strategic reconfiguration at the office, yet that seems to be slowing down now, as… well, I can’t really explain it without betraying confidences. Basically the process of reviewing the company’s structure and mission has stalled out and I don’t know when, or if, it will re-engage. I’m hopeful that we can startup again before June, but who knows. It’s been quite the roller coaster and at the moment I just want to get off and find a Sno Cone.

—–

Separately — and way more fun — I’ve been working on moving my company and all its employees over to Google Apps, in the process dumping our Microsoft Exchange e-mail server and Outlook (at least officially).

So here’s the question: Do you have experience with moving your company over to Google Apps, especially away from Exchange and Outlook? If so, I’d like to hear about it either in the comments or via e-mail.

Right now I’m still in the planning and early-adopter transition phase, but in the end I have to migrate about 40 people to the service (which is tiny, I know), moving most of their archived mail to the service. I’ve already run into a couple mail migration glitches and I’m still figuring out how to handle public folders.

In the end, I expect to save anywhere from a few thousand to several thousand dollars per year (electricity, server upkeep, backup management, software licensing, staff time) and get some intangible cultural benefits from pushing the company further online. Instant messaging integrated with the web e-mail client is compelling, as is vast e-mail storage space and the document sharing features of Google Docs.

So let me know if you’re a Google Apps shop. What works? What doesn’t work? Send me your cheers and your jeers for the service. I can share my experiences, too, if that’s helpful.