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Searching for UC With Google: Part 2

This is the second of a two-part article. Part 1 can be found here.

The following is the second portion of our summary of Google services from a UC perspective. The list is not exhaustive. It is organized by functional service areas.

4) Conferencing
Effective audio and/or video conferencing is another core component of unified communications. At this time, Google has a limited audio conferencing service associated with its Google Voice service. Video Conferencing is available through Google Talk using webcams. A new Android cell phone called the V1 by Saygus will offer Verizon wireless users a mobile solution for video conferencing. Google Talk's video isn't in the same league as Cisco's Telepresence, but is reasonably effective and inexpensive. It has practical uses, such as this teacher using it for a guest speaker.

At this time Google does not offer anything like Cisco's WebEx or Citrix's GoToWebinar for audio and web conferencing, but many of the tools are there. HiDef Conferencing, now owned by Citrix and previously part of Vapps, integrated with Gizmo5 for conferencing services. Additionally, Google's video chat is powered by Vidyo, which treats every participant in a conference individually with separate controls over up-stream and down-stream speeds via dynamic adjustment of bitrates and resolutions (Google limits its implementation to two participants, but Vidyo can accommodate many more). Vidyo uses H.264/SVC video compression and can avoid a centralized multipoint control unit (MCU). Gizmo5 supports H.264 SIP video as well.

5) Messaging
Messaging is a critical component of unified communications, and includes both email and voice mail. Google's Gmail solution includes virus and spam protection. The service is available in multiple editions including consumer, business, government, and education versions. Voice mail service is available from both Google Voice and Google Talk. Gmail and Google Voice support in/out SMS messages, and as of recently, "Voicemail" is a reserved system label in Gmail. A recent new solution from Google Labs adds player capability inside the Gmail viewer. Gmail supports POP and IMAP, so it could be used with products like Microsoft Outlook.

Other capabilities:

--Translate: A simple solution for translating text between languages. Not terribly accurate, but often sufficient to determine topics and action necessary. Combining it with transcription services makes it possible to translate recordings in audio or video. This could be used for improved international project coordination and collaboration. Google just launched near-instant translation of speech.

--Speech Recognition: Google owns speech recognition technology best known through its Goog-411 automated directory assistance. This particular service translates a verbal request into a Google directory look-up. Once speech is converted to text, it can be manipulated and applied to multiple Google services including translation, queries, navigation.

--SMS: Gmail offers SMS messages from Gmail. Combined with Gmail filters, an SMS can be generated from inbound email such as a voice mail from a unified messaging server. This provides a viable work-around from the proprietary voice mail alerts from cell carriers.

Google Voice offers voice mail transcription and SMS alerts. The full Google Voice service currently requires a Google assigned number, but the service was recently modified to include a voice mail-only option with external numbers such as an existing cell phone number.

Google does not have a direct solution for inbound or outbound faxing other than using scanners and fax-to-email services and manipulating them via Gmail.

6) Mobility
Competitively speaking, Google has some significant advantages and potential around mobility:

Android: Android is Google's open source mobile phone platform that is just now gaining traction. No other UC vendor has its own cell phone platform and no other cell platform has such UC capability for the enterprise.

The Android phones work seamlessly with many of Google's services including Gmail, Calendar, Contacts, YouTube, Picasa, Talk, and Voice. As mentioned in Part 1 of this article, most Android phones are GPS aware. Google Latitude offers a variety of location based services including the ability to see the location of friends and colleagues on a map--current as well as past information. Google Maps/Latitude can provide detailed directions to find a person rather than just an address. A new feature on Android phones allows users to search categories such as restaurants sorted by distance. A Google Voice client is available for Android and Blackberry phones. The Android phone platform is available on 12 models on three major US carriers. Gartner predicts Android to be the leading smart phone platform in 2012.

Gears: Google Gears is a solution for offline access to Google's cloud services. One problem with services based in the cloud is offline productivity such as on an airplane (though less and less of an issue). Google Gears provides offline access to programs such as Gmail, so email can be reviewed and composed and synchronized later. Google Gears is available for many of Google's services, but it will likely be replaced in the future with HTML5.

HTML5: The HTML5 specification is still a work in progress, but solves many problems for Google regarding web based applications; particularly on the iPhone. Apple's stranglehold on applications through its Appstore results in silos of user data that Google's adwords engine can't access. Additionally, applications remain tightly controlled by Apple. HTML5 enables applications to run and install without Appstore censorship; as well as run offline. This is doubly significant when considering Google Chrome OS--HTML5 will simplify application support among multiple hardware platforms.

Latitude and Maps: These applications enable many types of communications and telemetry. Mobile workforce management can find the nearest field resource in a dispatch situation, or availability rules can be set to consult both the calendar and the location, e.g.: I am available for calls when the calendar says "on call" and route calls to home number while at home.

7) Development
A comprehensive UC solution needs to have both applications and customization abilities. Google is working to create a development community and is actively involved with HTML5 to add more client/server type functionality to the browser.

Google App Engine: App Engine offers a developers a cloud based environment to build and host web applications. The initial sandbox is free, additional resources can be purchased. It includes a Java runtime environment, integration with Google Web Toolkit, and a Google Plugin for Eclipse, providing an end-to-end Java solution for AJAX web applications.

GO: Google recently announced Go, an open sourced programming language that combines the performance and security benefits associated with using a compiled language like C++ with the speed of a language like Python. Too new to say much more.

8) Control
Though not really a direct component of UC, a little control over the infrastructure is a competitive advantage worth noting.

Chrome Browser: The browser is the gateway to the Internet and Google isn't too hot about letting other manufacturers control that gateway. Initially Google was pleased with significant influence over Firefox, but ultimately determined its own browser was needed. Google Chrome is a simple and fast browser planned for all major platforms. Google challenged many assumptions in current browsers and delivered a decent first release, though it will take quite a bit more (features and time) to challenge Microsoft, Apple, and Mozilla.

Chrome OS: As computing turns toward web based applications, the role and importance of the operating system changes. Netbook computers gained significant popularity over the past year--a lightweight, inexpensive solution for web computing. The two platforms popular so far are variations of Windows (Vista/Win7/XP) and Linux. Google announced the Chrome OS to be available late 2010 and it is expected to be less expensive than Windows and more optimized than general Linux distributions. From Google's Blog:

Speed, simplicity and security are the key aspects of Google Chrome OS. We're designing the OS to be fast and lightweight, to start up and get you onto the web in a few seconds. The user interface is minimal to stay out of your way, and most of the user experience takes place on the web. And as we did for the Google Chrome browser, we are going back to the basics and completely redesigning the underlying security architecture of the OS so that users don't have to deal with viruses, malware and security updates.

Android: Android is an open source, customizable platform designed for mobile phones. However, it isn't limited to phones--Android is appropriate for other devices as well, such as an ebook reader, IP phone, and netbook computer. Android is a Linux derivative and it isn't clear how Google will position Android relative to its Chrome OS. Android offers a full stack: an operating system, middleware, and several mobile applications. It also contains a rich set of APIs for both Google's applications and third-party developers. Android is in release 2 and has over 10,000 applications in the Android Marketplace.

Conclusion
The above components were included because of specific capabilities that are relevant to UC technologies. Google has many more tools and services that can contribute to their UC value proposition. Google Reader has the ability to subscribe to RSS feeds similar to Outlook--but also includes a sharing component via its own RSS feed. Google Checkout adds an e-commerce component to the mix. Google Adwords, initially designed for advertising, also provide a creative approach to market research for categorizing and grouping products and services. Google Analytics provides detailed measures and reports about website traffic patterns. Google Scholar searches scholarly sources including articles, theses, patents, books, abstracts and court opinions. The list goes on.

Not mentioned above is Google's Killer App: Search. Search is the glue that makes the other services work. Gmail, calender, Maps, even Google Voice—all have strong search capabilities. The question is, can search evolve to new types of queries such as finding a resource that understands widgets, speaks French, is available, and close to the customer? Probably soon enough. For example, Google Suggest is now based on location--that is, the suggestions Google offers as the search query is entered are now influenced by the user's location.

Call it UC or not, many of these tools are penetrating the workplace. As a solution set, these Google services are reasonably comprehensive for the SMB, and as services develop and mature (and move out of beta to general availability) the story gets stronger. But Google has some significant hurdles to clear before it can expect success in the enterprise.

First, Google needs to improve its integration between applications such as Gmail, Google Voice, and Calendar. This is needed just to catch up to other solutions offered today. Then, there are the significant gaps in the (potential) UC solution set--such as faxing and video or web conferencing. Google Voice in particular needs additional functionality and number portability before it can be taken seriously in the enterprise. Another big challenge is a channel. Google's young channel program is mostly focused on Google Apps, but enterprise customers will require a strong consultative channel that can assist with complex migrations and implementations.

Google's greatest advantage is that its revenue sources enable highly cost-effective solutions. For the typical UC vendor, each product and service needs to generate a reasonable return on investment for both the manufacturer and the customer. Conversely, Google can subsidize their services via direct and indirect advertising revenue streams. Their core products are already created and available, providing a huge head start even if future enterprise products are sold without advertising opportunties.

Google is in the UC business today, though because of service gaps, integration holes, and a limited channel, their solutions are not comprehensive for business. But the technology is there and getting better. Several closed betas indicate a growing desire to increase the portfolio's strength along with a new channel recruitment initiative. Google has a proven tendency to change the rules of a given sector with new capabilities and new pricing models. Based on the direction of their services, it seems likely Google will have the ability to play in the enterprise UC space should they desire.

Dave Michels is a frequent contributor and blogs regularly about telecom and voice at www.pindropsoup.com. For more on Google's moves in communications, see this feature that Dave wrote earlier this year.