Google Apps: What You Should Consider Before Taking the Plunge

February 27th, 2007

(Note: This post was originally composed as an open complaint in the Google Apps Google Group)

I have taken the plunge into attempting to use Google Apps. I have even gone so far as to try out the Premiere Edition. My experience thus far has been less than ideal.

I originally thought that it would be great to be able to manage and handle all my business tasks via Google’s new Apps service but I have been sorely let down.

I have been using the Google personal pages for almost a year now with my Gmail account and love seeing my Gmail and Google reader stuff there as widgets. I thought wow. I could have my domain email work the same way and do it all under my domain email so I signed up.

Here Are the Problems So Far

I Haven’t been able to get the email to work. I have a CPanel based host and the MX Record doesn’t seem to want to change. (Host also has Edit DNS disabled in my reseller WHM account so I can’t change the MX records there even if I wanted to.)

Where Are Contacts in Calendar

I can’t figure out what genius didn’t think it would be a good idea to integrate Contacts with the Google Calendar in Apps. Sharing contacts is not enough. You want to be able to set appointments with them as well. (On the same note, we are given the opportunity [in the Premier Edition] to manage and schedule resources [just not humans])

Start Page is Not At All Like Personal Page

partnerpage/mydomain.com doesn’t work like google.com/ig! Why, I don’t know. But all I do know is that you can’t add any ig(personal page) specific widgets to the start page so my wish to be able to have my reader account work on the start page is all for not. It doesn’t make sense to have a bunch of RSS feed widgets when Google Reader works so well and you can see those feeds there. Put the damn Google Reader widget into partnerpages/mydomain.com. Now!

Standard Google Links Don’t Work Right

Mail, Calendar and other links at the top left of the Apps applications lead to the standard google applications and if you are signed out and try to click mail and sign in you get a nice message that states that, “You can’t login to GMail using your Google Account…” (paraphrased)

Migrating Email = Abandoning Your Old Messages

It appears that it is impossible to import email messages into Gmail for Google Apps. It was, at one time possible with a hack to import messages into standard GMail but why Google wouldn’t think that this might come in handy for someone to use when “migrating” to GMail for Google Apps is beyond me. It should be really called “abandoning your old email” vs. migration if you can’t import your messages.

Peer Support is Not Enough

Help and support seems to be sparse for such a new application. I know it is new but it should have been planned from day one, that the Google Apps Google Group should be manned by people who actually work on the project and have enough people here that questions get answered–no matter how basic. I see far too many threads in this Group that are dead or ignored. For a new application the experienced user group just doesn’t exist–you can’t just expect peer support to work out of the gate. The majority of people in the Google Apps Group are early adopters, the people who, if given the right direction and support will enable them to support others. (Though, I suspect most will just give up or leave based on the current scene)

Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For

What I was looking for was an tightly integrated, enhanced, domain version of what I already have with my Google/GMail account. What I have signed up for is a mess of half finished parts being taped together as they go and not a word as to what the shape might end up as.

Questions Still Remain

Will I be able to Scehudule with Contacts?

Use Google Reader and Analytics under my apps account?

Can Import my email messages without a hack?

Will Real Googlers pipe in on this group, en masse, to let us know that it will all eventually work?

Have You Tried the Switch?

Update: Here is someone who has.

Entry Filed under: Reviews, Productivity

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9 Comments Add your own

1. 37Signals Highrise on the&hellip | March 1st, 2007 at 4:04 pm

[…] I had recently posted about my quest for a Fast, Integrated CRM solution and also about my attempt at another online software service—Google Apps. […]
2. Freshbooks Ties to BaseCa&hellip | March 1st, 2007 at 5:03 pm

[…] If you have been dreaming about the paperless office like John at Duct Tape or me recently searching for CRM solutions and my trials with Google Apps you know that integration is key. […]
3. Freshbooks Ties to Baseca&hellip | March 1st, 2007 at 6:18 pm

[…] about the paperless office like John at Duct Tape or me recently searching for CRM solutions and my trials with Google Apps you know that integration is […]
4. 37Signals Highrise on the&hellip | March 1st, 2007 at 6:18 pm

[…] I had recently posted about my quest for a Fast, Integrated CRM solution and also about my attempt at another online software service—Google Apps. […]
5. Erik Mallinson | April 26th, 2007 at 6:14 pm

I would love to find a killer email app, and don’t think Google has it. I’d even go so far as to pay as well.

Something like Joyent’s Connector, only I’d probably only use the email part:

http://joyent.com/connector

Connector has tagging and imap support! Actually, after paying for Basecamp/Highrise/Backpack, another $8/mo isn’t so bad.
6. Jay | April 27th, 2007 at 11:51 am

@Erik,

After using GMail for email for nearly 3 months, I find that no other email client app is as fast and lends itself to GTD as well. I will not go back to using a desktop client as I just can’t live without the speed and remote accessibility.

I have looked at a number of the API integrator projects and haven’t found one I have liked as they slow my whole workflow. I will take another look at Connector but speed is of the utmost importance. GMail’s got it in spades. The downfall of Google Apps is a lack of good integration with anything. 37Signals suffers from the same problem. I have to say though that I think that I have a nice system down albeit without decent cross application integration. I have gotten a great work flow using the following: Gmail for email communications, Vitalist (http://my.vitalist.com/) for collection of projects and related actions, and Highrise for all other people related activity.

If Highrise had integration with BaseCamp I’d probably drop Vitalist but Basecamp’s cost benefit is not good for me as a single person (now).

Thanks for your comment.

Jay
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