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Google Apps vs. Exchange
Microsoft Outlook Perspective on Google Apps EMail
This is a functional comparison between Outlook/Exchange email and Google Apps Email from a user's perspective. It does not address issues involving conversion or administration of email, nor does it go into depth on Google Docs or Google Sites. It focuses on the expectations of the average Outlook during the transition from Microsoft to Google.
Conversations
Google's approach to mail is based on "conversations" rather than individual messages. Your standard inbox view displays a thread of messages as a single entry based on subject. When a new response message arrives, the updated conversation will jump to the top of your inbox. The entire conversation can be archived or deleted as a logical unit. This concept creates a very different mind-set for Outlook users who are accustomed to managing individual messages. Outlook's little-known conversation view is less robust and rarely used. It may take several weeks to accept this new approach and recognize the productivity increase that comes from reduced email housekeeping. However, new users will quickly find that email threading is not only convenient, it is necessary when one email warrants dozens of responses.
Gmail Inbox
In Google, the term Inbox can be a bit confusing for Outlook users. If I compose a new message and send it to you, my message will appear in my "sent" view. However, when you respond to my message, your reply will arrive in my inbox bundled with my original sent message. This is the start of a conversation. My original message is still visible in the "sent" view because Google mail messages are visible from multiple views. See Folders section below.
Organizing: Folders, Labels & Search
With the ability to instantly locate any conversation in just a few key strokes, you can significantly reduce time spent organizing mail. Google's design seems to be focused on minimizing email housekeeping chores by locating the item you are looking for with minimal effort. If you gain satisfaction from carefully placing messages into appropriate folders, you are in for a major change. Attempting to recreate your Outlook filing system in Gmail means that you are missing the intent of this design. Gmail is not another version of Outlook. Instead it provides a fresh point of view for using email which requires you to let go of some old habits.
A mail message can only reside in one place in Outlook, so it's necessary to derive a folder hierarchy that makes sense to you personally. Sometimes one email can fit under more than one category, which is why Google uses labels rather than folders. Each conversation can receive multiple labels and each label becomes a custom (filtered) view of your mail. A conversation about giving Mary a bonus for her great work on the London project can be labeled with "Staff," "Bonuses" and "London Project". If you need to retrieve this email at her next performance review, you can select "London Project" to see all of the conversations with that label. If you don't spot the conversation you are looking for, you can apply a second label or just search any relevant keywords within "London Project".
The search function is another useful tool for quickly finding mail items. Google search on email is extremely fast and convenient. You can even preserve common searches by building a "Filter" to see only those mail items that fit your specified criteria. Although the search feature is very fast and accurate, it may take time for Outlook users to trust it. Search in Outlook has been so bad for so long that most Outlook users have become experts at tending their folders and PST archives.
The key to Gmail acceptance is to let go of the complex folder structure and rely on Labels and Search. Remember: The only email actions that represent productive work are composing and reading your mail. Everything else is just overhead.
Out of Office Assistant
Google's Vacation Responder has basically the same functionality as Outlook for notifications. Outlook has an "advanced rules" feature and Gmail includes an option to only auto-respond to those in your address book.
Follow Up Flags
Those little red flags in Outlook can be replaced by stars as a visual reminder, but there is no ability to enter a due date and time for a pop-up reminder. Hopefully the reminder tool will be created for a future release of Gmail.
Mail Options
Outlook offers many options for customized delivery which Google does not yet support. This includes Delivery Receipts, Read Receipts, Sensitivity Flags and Voting Buttons. While some users may miss these features, others (like me) rarely utilized them in the first place.
Signatures
Outlook offers two auto-signatures - one for new mail and one for replies. It also allows you to swap the auto-signature for a number of different signatures you have defined in advance. Google only offers one signature for all email. This may seem like a setback, but there is a simple solution: Build a formal signature and delete the lower lines as appropriate. Here is a sample of 4 different signatures based on which information I chose to delete:
Regards,
John Doe
Director of Email Signatures
XYZ Corp.
(201) 555-1234 (0)
(201) 555-5678 (M)
www.xyz.com
Personally, I doubt emails really require a signature these days (more on that later).
MS Office Integration
I didn't realize how often I sent documents and spreadsheets right out of Word and Excel until I switched to Google Email. After the initial frustration, I started using Google Docs rather than Microsoft Office for 90% of my documents. Sending an invitation with a link to your document removes the issue of version control as others make edits. The added benefit of collaboration makes Gmail and Docs a better option than Exchange and MS Office.
One word of warning: Google Docs works best when the majority of people you interact with are using it. Running with a 50/50 mix of Google and Microsoft can be more frustrating than using either suite of products.
Contacts
Contacts in Google and Outlook are identical with just a few exceptions. Contacts in Google display alphabetically by full name (First Last) for individuals or Company Name if the Name field is left blank. There is no equivalent in Google for the "Display As" field in Outlook, which allows you to alter how a contact appears in your list.
Outlook has a set of advanced options for contacts that includes information normally found in Contact Management software, such as Manager's Name, Assistant's Name and Spouse's Name. These fields are most likely only useful for Salespeople, who probably use a more powerful sales tool than Outlook.
Groups
Personal groups do not currently convert from Outlook but once established they behave the same in Google.
Corporate Groups are available and can be centrally administered but there are several deficiencies at this time. You can not currently browse corporate groups like you can with the Global Address List in Exchange and you can't see the content of a group. At present we maintain an external list of Corporate Groups using Google Sites.
Calendar
Both Outlook and Google support three types of Calendar entries:
- Appointments - Just you
- Meetings - You and other people invited and confirmed by email
- Events - Calendar date reminders (like Birthdays) with no specific time assigned
Both products have optional features for calendar entries such as "Recurrence", "Reminders" and "Private". Whereas Outlook meetings can only be modified by the meeting organizer, Google allows you to empower invitees to invite others. I can invite department heads to an event and allow them to invite appropriate people on their staff. It's a simple tweak that adds a lot of value.
Microsoft Extras
Tasks
Google Labs has released a Beta version of Tasks. It currently does not offer reminders or email routing, but this Beta feature should be an acceptable option for Outlook users. I started using the Tasks feature but have since shifted to a "To Do" spreadsheet in Google Docs. Not many people like my approach but I find the spreadsheet format easier when sorting tasks by priority.
Beware of any departments that utilize Outlook Tasks as a simplistic Service Desk Ticketing System. They will need to stay on Exchange or purchase a Help Desk Package to tract Tasks.
Notes
There is no equivalent to Outlook's yellow sticky notes. Notes items will convert as emails from "unknown sender" with a Label of "Notes". This preserves Notes in the conversion process, but the user must decide where to place this information (Google Docs, Google Sites, EverNote.com, etc.). I have moved my notes to a single document in Google Docs.
Journal
This is a rarely used function in Outlook, but some may be heavily dependent on it. It is popular with Law Firms and is often used to document phone conversations. There is no equivalent in Google, so if you are a specialized Outlook user, the Journal feature may be a deal breaker for you.
Google Extras
There are several major features in Google Apps that do not appear in Outlook/Exchange. This includes Google Talk, Google Docs and Google Sites. As an Outlook user, I had to give up certain tools during the switch. However, Google's collection of integration points easily offsets the tools I gave up. Some of my favorites include:
- Integration of instant messaging in my primary email screen
- The ability to launch an instant message window for the sender from inside the email message screen. Playing email tag is just too slow for today's pace of business. I love the ability to seamlessly switch from an email conversation to an IM conversation.
- The line between Email and IM has blurred. I consider IM to be another form of mail with faster delivery. Integrating IM and email on a single page is so natural; once you have it you'll wonder how you lived without it.
- The ability to have voice and video on the same paltform as email and IM gives me one-stop for all of my business communication.
- Add-ons to provide all kinds of useful utility functions like checking my email for the word "attachment" and warning me if no files are attached.
- Google's offline mode is comparable to Outlook but it offers "Flaky Connection Mode" which makes a best effort attempt with a poor Internet connection to move my mail in and out. This adds tremendous productivity if you're a road warrior.
And let's not forget the size issue: Google Apps gives me 25 Gigabytes to hold ALL of my correspondence. No more annoying emails about mailbox size limits. I never have to worry about deleting an important email that I may need later.
A Fresh Look at Business Communication
When I first entered the work world there were no PCs, no email, no instant messaging, no cell phones, and long distance phone calls were very expensive. We relied heavily on the US Mail and our typing pool. If I wanted to send a letter, I wrote it out by hand and attached a work order slip for the Typing Pool. They typed it up and sent it to me for review. By "sent" I mean our mail-boy pushed his cart along and dropped it in the IN Box on my desk. I would make corrections if needed and send it back (on the mail boy's next round) and they would retype it. Sometimes this took a few iterations. Eventually the final version was placed in an official company envelope and sent to the mail room for postage. Without a private secretary it often took a day to get a letter out and I could expect a response in three to five business days. This was the normal pace of business in 1979. Because business communication took a lot of effort, it was treated as very formal act.
Thirty years later we still practice a lot of old habits left over from the 1970's 80's and 90's that should probably be done away with. These days I don't think I need any opening salutation or closing signature unless I'm addressing someone I've never met. I haven't been worried about delivery receipts since I dumped my dial-up modem. Now that I switched to Google Apps I've stopped worrying about filing my correspondence because it's so easy to find whatever I need. Plus I have so much storage I'll never need to waste time cleaning my mailbox.
I no longer think of an email as an electronic version of 1970's business letter. I think of it as a message that makes up one small part of a business conversation. My conversations include email, instant messages, group web sites and documents that can be modified together in a collaborative environment. I have lived through several eras of business communication and the most important lesson I have learned is to not cling to the past. Outlook and Exchange mail haven't changed much in over a decade and it was time for me to move on. I won't miss Outlook any more than I miss the typing pool.