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Indoff stopped worrying about email and improved collaboration with Google Apps Premier Edition.Download the PDF of this article: here BusinessVirtually any thriving business requires a lot of behind-the-scenes activity: products must be moved and stored, office spaces furnished and supplies procured, and promotional products created to generate sales, motivate employees or enhance branding. That’s where Indoff comes in. The company distributes office interiors, products and promotions that are sold through 400 Sales Partners in 45 states and Mexico. "We’re a little like Staples without the storefront," explains Director of IT Shawn Faulkingham. "Our Sales Partners order products, we drop-ship them, and our Sales Partners maintain the direct relationship with the customer." ApproachAs a distributor that exchanges information every day with hundreds of partners, Indoff’s operations pivot around email. It is the company’s primary form of communication, and according to Faulkingham, "On any given day our employees and Sales Partners (500 users in all) swap on the order of 200,000 emails." The company previously used a server-based solution that fell short when it came to handling the necessary volume of electronic communications. Faulkingham recalls spending a good chunk of his day pushing email along and dealing with delivery issues. "In this business, our partners don’t tolerate getting an email six hours late, or not receiving one at all," Faulkingham says. Solution
When Faulkingham learned about Google Apps Premier Edition, he immediately realized it could end the company’s email woes. He and his team tested Google Apps to confirm that it was going to be fast and easy to use, and could also deliver exceptional uptime and reliability. Within two weeks, Indoff’s employees and sales partners had moved over to Google Apps. Everyone now uses Gmail, either via Google’s web interface or via POP access. Indoff was sold on the facts that Google Apps offers guaranteed uptime, relieves the IT staff of having to worry about hosting communication and collaboration solutions in-house, and ensures that anyone accessing the Google Apps solution would have to give explicit permission prior to having information shared. According to Faulkingham, Indoff placed a high level of confidence and trust in Google. “Google’s privacy policies are beyond reproach, so we know we are in good hands,” recalls Faulkingham. Having solved the email issue, Indoff employees have delved deeper into Google Apps for communication and collaboration. Employees use the Start Page as the entry point to all of the Google Apps tools, as well as Google Docs for tracking projects. Google Calendar keeps everyone’s schedules in sync. Google Talk is a mainstay, especially for support personnel untangling technical issues. "We used Google Docs to migrate to Google Apps, keeping track of progress, usernames, passwords, issues, and more," says Faulkingham. "I foresee the collaboration tools in Google Apps growing in importance, as our sales partners start to use Google Docs to collaborate with vendors, customers, and folks here at corporate." ResultsFaulkingham says the migration to Google Apps was “very simple and painless,” and adds, “that’s exactly what we were hoping for.” And since the move, Indoff’s operations run more smoothly. Faulkingham cites the uptime Google Apps provides, freeing both the IT group and other employees and Sales Partners to focus on more strategic work at hand. The powerful spam filters have also increased productivity. Further, he’s also enthusiastic about everyone having access to the communication and collaboration tools they need regardless of their location—an important factor for Indoff’s far-flung network of partners. Google has also helped lower the cost of operations, says Faulkingham, who observes, "Google Apps is incredibly robust and can handle a large volume of emails, and at $50 per user, we’re saving tens of thousands each year in both hard and soft costs." About Google AppsGoogle Apps is a suite of applications that includes Gmail (webmail services), Google Calendar (shared calendaring), Google Talk (instant messaging and voice over IP), and a Start Page for creating a customizable homepage on a specific domain. Google Apps offers editions tailored to specific customer needs, including a Standard Edition (ideal for family domains), Education Edition (K-12 schools, colleges and universities), Premier Edition (businesses of all sizes) and Partner Edition (Internet Service Providers and portals).
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