Cloud a la Google: Pros and Cons for Virtualization

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1 Why Non-profits Should be Jazzed about the Cloud a la Google John Nesbitt Director, Network and Information Systems

2 Volunteers of America -MN In 2011 we served 26,500 people The majority of those we served were low-income Our programs Children and Families Education Older Adults Persons with Special Needs Adults Completing Rehabilitation Housing

3 How it all started

4 MS Outlook 2003 felt good, but like a really, really old pair of shoes that had seen better days... For VOA-MN collaboration is increasingly at the heart and sole of operations

5 Terms Cloud Software solutions that are located other than where your organization resides (other side of town\planet). Most cloud solutions are offered as SAAS solutions. SAAS Stands for software as a service. Key properties of SAAS: subscription based, no software installed locally, very scalable, accessed on the Internet Hosted Locating of your hardware or software at a site other than where your organization is located Subscriptions/Pay-As-You-Go Instead of purchasing new hardware, software, or licenses organizations pay a monthly fee to access a typically web based solution -not a capitalized expense Virtualization Software that enables the running of multiple virtual computers, rather than physical or actual machines, on one computer. Generally when talking virtualization people connect to a virtual computer and work on it rather than on their physical, local desktop or laptop. Provisioning Providing users with the various technologies they need to do their jobs.

6 The 800Lbs (Exchange) Server in the Room Reasons for Microsoft (Exchange) MS Outlook on desktops Running other MS solutions Peer organizations use it Greater administrative control Potential for tight integration between desktop and Reasons against (Exchange) Internal/External hosting costs Preferred vendor went down for a day Productivity tools?

7 And in the other corner -the Cloud Google Apps stats address of (gmail.com) Other productivity tools like sites, Docs, Chat, etc 25 gigs of storage per user Enterprise-scale feature set Access to support Administrative control, spam blocker, blah blah blah No licensing costs for up to 3,000 users

8 Key decision points Non-profit pricing Industry standard (plays nice with others) Metrics Market presence

9 Key decision points Secondary Products Future proofed Aligns with operation's 'Cloud First' vision

10 Key decision points Critical juncture in operational evolution Technical Architecture Aligns with skill set goals We do day services not data centers

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12 We got jazzed about the Cloud and Google Apps We went with the Google Apps for Non-profits You must be an accredited US 501(c)(3) non-profit organizations with under 3,000 users. The application process can take several months

13 Send Receive Attach Management went first (pilot phase) (Great approach if stress related hair loss is in project plan) Old and new co-exist nicely with dual delivery No cutover marathons One-on-one training to speed learning/assessment Gap analysis Business processes Culture Repeat

14 So how'd it go? At present we've migrated about 500 users Consultants helped on small, critical pieces Google Resources Utilized? Ya betcha! VOA-MN migration strategies 'Swimming Buddy System' Outlook left on desktop, but disabled Browser choice is left up to user

15 It's an adoption rate buffet Everyone approaches change differently (And we all yell when it's not going well) Show up versus send a link versus saying 'No' Adoption\Satisfaction Old Syst em stem Sy New Time

16 Some of the bumps Session control Blackberry screen tough to navigate IT savvy may not flock to Google Outlook initially supported -then not Missing Outlook features (per users) Delayed delivery Sorting of s More provisioning options Turn off the conversation view Turn on a preview panel lab/feature

17 Thoughts on Microsoft We still love Office -Outlook not so much We're flirting with desktop virtualization -But it's not serious...yet

18 Google Apps and Data Security GA Does not claim compliance GA Does provide many of the individual pieces The ball is in your court Generally, an organization must decide whether its use of Google Apps is compliant with any regulations it may be subject to. -Google website And you're worried about your systems...

19 Where are we going from here? Sub-domains Groups Sites Google Docs Internet connection redundancy Archiving Hair Dynamic Provisioning Disaster Recovery Salesforce.com Integration (Vanna White moment)

20 References Google to Microsoft Comparison at Berkeley Google Application process: Google Security Google Apps Market Place Government strategy document on cloud computing Google Cloud Connect MS Skydrive MS Office 365

21 References Local Support MAP for Non-profits Agosto Backpack Tactics John Nesbitt