I can see companies bringing in consultants to help build service oriented architectures or to properly virtualize their servers, but if you can't install your own word processing or calendaring software by now, something is wrong with your IT department.

The partnership that Google announced with Cap Gemini for its Apps Premier Edition is really not much more than a basic reseller agreement, but it is being positioned like a stamp of approval that software-as-a-service can now be safely deployed by mainstream enterprises. The benefits for the companies involved are obvious: Google gets an indirect sales push to the kind of decision-makers who still see it as a glorified search engine suitable for consumers, while Cap Gemini gets to associate itself with the best-known brand in Web 2.0. Like all such partnerships, the premise is that Google Apps require the special handling that only a "trusted advisor" like Cap Gemini can provide.

I was particularly intrigued to read the comment from Steve Jones, who works in Cap Gemini's global outsourcing unit, in Computerworld U.S. that "this is not one-size-fits-all. It's desktop couture." Really? I would have thought programs such as Google Docs, Spreadsheets, Calendar and Gmail were more like the software equivalent of T-shirts and blue jeans -- you can spend a lot of money on them, but it's the basic ones that often look the best and feel the most comfortable.

Software-as-a-service or SaaS, is supposed to make it easier for companies to use software to achieve business goals. You run only what you need when you need it and you've got it sitting on someone else's servers, in many cases, to ensure that performance is optimized. The products are typically offered in standard packages that get away from some of the complex, dicey licensing agreements that come with applications from a box full of CDs. Google Apps Premium Edition, for example, is only US$50 a pop. Do you really want to add Cap Gemini's consulting fees onto that?

Of course, this won't be the only partnership of its kind between one of the top 10 software vendors and one of the top five consulting organizations. SAP, for one, is working hard to offer Web 2.0 applications that focus more on business users, and its relationship with firms like Accenture in Canada will likely be used to push those products into its installed base. I suspect the same thing is happening with Oracle and its network of system integrators.

The real question is how these kind of agreements will affect those who are now making the purchasing decisions for SaaS-delivered applications. You don't need your IT manager's permission to set up a Gmail account, and more than likely entire business units might eventually standardize on their own set of spreadsheet or word processing tools. That means it would be the business units, not the IT departments, working directly with the Cap Geminis of the world to deploy those suites, but a lot of them have opted for SaaS in the first place because they didn't want to rely on outside help. It also might mean wider SaaS deployments, which would probably trigger more IT department involvement. Cap Gemini and companies like it have a chance to prove themselves in a new way to clients: they can either make the IT department/line of business conflicts better, or worse.

» posted by abennett

ITBusiness.ca

• Email
• Print
• Share
  • Slashdot
  • Digg
  • Stumble
  • Reddit
  • Newsvine