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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:

Avago is a $1.7 billion semiconductor company. We decided to go to Google Apps, enterprise wide, 4100 users, the whole apps suite. So, my users are happy now but I also save $1.6 million a year.

Todd Pierce:

Genentech was founded in 1976 and marked the beginning of the biotech revolution for healthcare.

We went with Google Apps because we see it as an innovative leader in cloud computing and bringing new technology to our users so that they can work more effectively and really focus on what matters most which is innovating healthcare.

Some of our users like Outlook, and so we wanted to be able to get the best of cloud computing and Google Apps but allow them to continue to use their familiar Outlook client.

Robert J. Rudy:

In the first week or so, after the big bang deployment, 39% of the users were still using Outlook because we had given them the choice to ease the change management angst. But in four weeks, it was down to 12%, so to be able to give them a full feature, high speed performance capability similar to the native web client, we heard about this from Google and asked to be an early adopter for it and then we implemented it.

Todd Pierce:

Google Apps Sync for Microsoft Outlook gives them choice, makes it easy, and allows us to deliver an integrated solution to everyone.

Robert J. Rudy:

It eliminates the performance hit from using the IMAP for protocol. It gives them a richer experience than they had because they’re not waiting for things. They actually say it’s like a miracle because they really just have the same environment they had before which is really what they wanted all along.

Todd Pierce:

Google Apps Sync for Microsoft Outlook makes it easier than ever for enterprises to move to G Apps because they can. for those users that want to stay with the Outlook experience, they can do that and the enterprise can be free from much of the other infrastructure that you need for Microsoft Outlook support.

Robert J. Rudy:

The elimination of servers and storage, and backups and tapes, and people to manage all those activities are -- Google Apps enterprise has actually cost one-sixth of what the previous incumbent Microsoft exchange environment was.It’s basically seamless with the Google Apps backend. It’s an amazing thing and I guess the thing that really popped out to me was how fast it runs.

Todd Pierce:

Is Google really committed to the enterprise? Google Apps Sync for Microsoft Outlook shows the depth of their commitment and really bringing a terrific user experience and options for end users, while delivering the cost savings, the simplicity, the reliability, and the performance of cloud computing.

Robert J. Rudy:

So for CIOs who are considering moving to Google Apps Premier and who are concerned with the integration with Microsoft, I could tell them that this new plug-in eliminates that gap. The functionality is incredible, the user productivity is equivalent to the native web client, but the benefit for IT, managers and CIOs is that you also get the benefit from the huge cost savings from eliminating all the backend infrastructure associated with exchange.

The Video: