GooGle Apps CAse study

San Francisco Consulting Group uses Google Apps to eliminate IT headaches and enhance collaboration among consultants working around the world. Business

“Our email services perform faster and are more available on the go. It’s hard to put a number to it, but our collaborative work habits have definitely improved.” David Ewing President, San Francisco Consulting Group

San Francisco Consulting Group (SFCG) helps clients confront sales and marketing issues, from boardroom strategy to point-of-sale tactics, to drive revenue and boost profits. Since 2001, SFCG has worked with a wide range of clients in high tech, manufacturing, retail, healthcare, finance and business services, in areas including market strategy, product differentiation, pricing, marketing communications and sales execution. SFCG, whose ten consultants work with clients around the globe, competes with both major players and smaller operators in the highly competitive consulting field. Its ability to serve customers globally has paid off; the firm’s compound annual growth rate has been 70% since it was founded. Approach Whether they’re working offsite, traveling abroad to work with clients, or working out of the home office, SFCG’s consultants need powerful, reliable communication and collaboration tools to work together on behalf of clients. At the same time, SFCG is constantly on the lookout for ways to streamline workflows, overcome IT challenges, and lower costs. With these things in mind, the firm recently decided to transition away from an unwieldy mail service.

ABOUT GOOGLE APPS Google Apps is a suite of applications that includes Gmail, Google Calendar (shared calendaring), Google Talk (instant messaging and voice over IP), Google Docs (online document hosting and collaboration), Google Page Creator (web page creation and publishing) and Start Page (a single, customizable access point for all applications). Google Apps offers editions tailored to specific customer needs, including the Standard Edition (ideal for family domains), Education Edition (K-12 schools, colleges and universities) and Premier Edition (businesses of all sizes). Visit www.google.com/a for more information.

“With Google Apps, you get the power of hosted applications with desktop-like interactivity and best-in-class management. What are people waiting for?”

Solution SFCG turned to Google Apps Standard Edition to meet its needs. “Flexibility, price, reliability, and security are deciding factors in any smart move,” says SFCG president David Ewing. ‘Google Apps has them all.” The firm was especially attracted to Gmail’s best-in-class spam filtering, threaded conversations, and huge storage capability, and to fact that, because it’s a hosted service, Apps provides great reliability. “All this for free,” says Ewing. “Any more questions?” It was simple for the firm to integrate Gmail into its SAAS environment, replacing the services of an ISP that couldn’t seem to prevent emails from getting lost.

Google Apps Case Study

Results Today, SFCG’s consultants use Google Apps tools like Gmail, Google Calendar, and Google Docs to communicate and collaborate more effectively than they could before. Its consultants use Calendar from locations all over the world, sharing schedules through dynamic interfaces via mobile devices, laptops, and smart phones. The entire staff enjoys Apps benefits like the ability to custom-configure a home page, use labels, and create time-saving shortcuts. And the firm now administers vacation schedules and other operational information using Google Docs. Since SFCG is in a business in which every billable hour counts, Ewing and others appreciate the way Apps has helped them cut computer-maintenance time (by at least one hour per employee per week). At the same time, the firm enjoys the increased availability of data from remote locations that Apps provides. “Our email services perform faster and are more available on the go,” says Ewing. “It’s hard to put a number to it, but our collaborative work habits have definitely improved.” In addition, since moving to Gmail, SFCG hasn’t had to deal with any lost emails. “With Google Apps, you get the power of hosted applications with desktop-like interactivity and best-in-class management,” Ewing says. “What are people waiting for?”

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