A couple weeks back, Ian spoke highly about leveraging Google Apps and other online applications to lower your IT overhead. Well, today, Google Announced a much anticipated release of a fee-based hosted ASP (application service provider) version of Google Apps, called Google Premier.
When I left Prudential, we just starting migrating over to Google Apps, primarily for Gmail. That was a miraculous time, as from where we came from before that, was a dark place. Since my departure, things have moved full force, and the new Director of Technology, Camden Daily, made some inroads and pushed Google Premier to the next level.
See for yourself during his interview with Google for their release marketing campaign. Camden is top of his game, and he loves a challenge, and he loves pushing technology to the next level. But he also knows how to leverage technology to accomplish feats that you probably couldn’t have under your ordinary situation.
Anyway, sit back and enjoy - and let it sink in. Think about his interview ambiguous to Google Apps, and more about how leveraging technology is as good as inventing it.
Good Job Cam-man! keep that Google Juice Flyin’ 
Chris,
As a fellow IT Director within the Prudential Franchise, I was wondering if you could expand on your move to the Google Apps within your old organization? I watched the the video of Cam’s interview but still had some questions.
Were you going to provide the system to agents or just use it for in-house staff? Were you planning on using other pieces of the apps such as the calendar?
Any further information you can provide?
Thanks
Kevin M
kevin - thanks for the comment.
It is going to be rolled out for all the agents. We (speaking past)
were lucky and have been able to get 600 users since last March 2006. so - we have been rolling full steam during beta.
The calendar is/will definately be implemented. I am not 100% clear
on its sharing capabilities from the enterprise level (I know they can
share in general). But there will definately be a company calendar, and maybe a way to see schedules
IM was being (ab)used .. it created a new dynamic of communication
The API for the full version kicks it-booty as well -
As for why — well were using a in-house product (@mail — atmail). It
served us for a couple years, but we needed to migrate. We outsourced
to __name withheld__ and were disappointed with the
CRM/Webmail/Content Manager — so, basically I was in a corner looking for answers, and I got this invite in Feb last year - almost as if
they were listening.