Getting IT done without an IT Guy

Google has announced the release of Google Apps – Team Edition, designed as a simple, accessible way for small teams within an organization to collaborate on documents and calendars, without the intervention of IT support personnel.As online threats like spyware, viruses and rootkits multiply, IT departments are typically overworked, and understaffed.

To keep their networks secure IT departments are notoriously cautious about what applications they allow on their networks. This can be very frustrating for the growing percentage of savvy users, who use increasingly sophisticated tools at home, and feel artificially limited when at their office computer. The new version of Google’s App Suite is targeted squarely at them.Google Apps – Team Edition, allows for shared calendars, instant messaging, and document collaboration, all in-browser, just like the other versions of Google Apps. By leaving out email, which is the hardest part of the original App Suite to deploy – and likely a feature users already have – Google is looking to appeal to users outside the IT Department. The idea being that small teams no longer need wait for IT to approve simple resources, and can administer them themselves.

Google hopes usage will spread virally, and users signing up from the same corporate email domain will be added to the existing ‘team’. So adding a colleague to the team is as simple as inviting them to an event on your calendar, or asking them to edit a document with you. From that point on they become full users, and can create their own events, and upload documents to collaborate with others.

The reaction from IT Departments remains to be seen, and it’s been suggested that the release by Google may alienate IT staff tasked with controlling the flow of potentially confidential information. By providing a new, uncontrolled route for users to communicate and share documents, Google is making it harder for IT staff to meet requirements laid down by regulations on information management like Sarbanes-Oxley, and others, especially in sensitive industries like healthcare and finance.But for small teams and groups, this release is another example of how rich internet applications are increasingly moving traditional applications into the cloud.