Jay McLean, CIO, Nexteer Automotive
Desirable features
Nexteer realized immediate productivity improvements with the implementation of Google Enterprise. Giving each user 30GB of storage eliminated the need to spend each morning in “email jail” managing email files before getting to the tasks of the day. Big advantage to our employees was, to be able to access Google Enterprise from anywhere and with any device. The addition of Google Drive gave our users a way to share files
Another positive aspect is that, new capabilities are added to Google Enterprise on a regular basis. Moving from an internally hosted solution to a cloud-based tool required a change, on how the Information Technology department supports the rest of the organization when it comes to collaboration. Instead of focusing on the infrastructure components and software maintenance, the IT team focuses on staying up to date with the new features being added and assisting the organization on using the new features to constantly improve our collaboration. The result: a higher value-added contribution from the IT function.
Secured Cloud Platform
I’m often asked about the security of going to the cloud based platform. The dynamic does change and organizations do need to monitor what files and data are being shared outside the organization. There are many available options to assist with this monitoring. From an overall security perspective, Google has more available resources and skilled technicians to keep our data protected than we could possibly afford to put in place internally.
The other question I often get is related to access to Google Enterprise in China, since Nexteer is a global company with a number of operations on the China mainland. Access to Google Enterprise is not an issue from our Chinese operations that are connected to our global wide area network. Remote access from hotels or employees’ homes in China is complicated by filtering and blocking via the Great Firewall. The only solution to this limitation at this time is for Nexteer employees to access the internet via a Virtual Private Network (VPN).
Google Enterprise is the foundation tool for collaboration at Nexteer and we find new ways to maximize our return on this investment every day.
