Cloud Hosting

Following their recent partnership announcement, Google and SalesForce have introduced Force.com for the Google App Engine. Web developers can now build web-based applications using the infrastructure from both companies.

Recently Google launched its Google Apps Outlook Sync stepping on the toes of Microsoft by luring their customers away from Microsoft Exchange email services.

Cost, manageability and the expected rising levels of spam in the region are the main reasons for academic institutions in East Africa to host their email in the cloud. Thousands of students, previously hosted on managed dedicated servers, have been migrated across to the Google's Gmail service.

This is another example of the increasing trend to move services into the cloud. Should the trial be a success, expect more and more academic institutions to follow in their footsteps.

Avago and Genetech both made the switch from Microsoft Exchange to the new Google Apps Outlook Sync service. They explain the reasons why and how successful the changeover has been.

Robert J. Rudy:

Google have launched a new Google Apps Outlook Sync so that companies can host their emails in the cloud but at the same time keep the same Outlook user experience for users.

There are huge potential cost savings for businesses that make the switch. A major firm Avago made the switch and reported a cost saving of over $1.6 million a year. The overheads of running your own servers, Microsoft Exchange licensing, power etc. are all combined into a much more transparent cost to Google.

Google have just announced a new service called Google Wave, an open communication and collaboration platform. The technology will be available later this year although an exact date has not been set.