Atmosphere 2015 : What do successful businesses have in common?
In the Atmosphere 2015 , Google Apps for Work compiled some of its success stories and
invited some of its most outstanding users to share their experiences via a new tool:
the events platform, Atmosphere Live. How do Google Apps contribute to the
success of businesses? We shall review contributors’ most significant ideas and
actions.
Google Apps has developed remarkably over recent years. Since The Big Switch:
Rewiring the World, from Edison to Google was published (a book that predicted the
impact of cloud computing), many companies have started using Cloud Computing.
Google Apps saw the future in it and, today, millions of companies work using this
platform.
Without doubt, digital transformation has enabled businesses to achieve an
enormous level of development in a short time. Let’s consider the growth of Twitter
in a matter of 3 years, for example, and compare it to the 25 years Mattel needed to
reach the same point. Change is evident and this digital transformation has also
been capable of changing some industries completely through new business
models based on technology.
However, what do these successful companies have in common? According to
Google, they have learned to collaborate with teams in various geographical
locations to create and exchange ideas developed by the best professionals.
Some examples of success stories:
Google Apps in the White House
After working for several multinationals, such as Disney, Tony Scott began to work in the
public sector and is now responsible for the technology used by the public administrations in
the Federal Republic of the United States; in other words, he is the White House’s CIO.
In Scott’s opinion, the scalability that the cloud provides and the possibility of
creating work flows that can be shared by other administrations with a view to
centralising everything are great advantages. However, throughout his career, he has
learned of the importance of establishing goals in order to select the appropriate
technology.
In his case, security is one of the highest valued assets, and he mentions the effort
and results of businesses that are developing cloud computing by saying that “the
cloud is the best place to store our information safely”. In addition, he indicates
the importance of permanently assessing the products we use to know whether they
meet our goals, as the needs of companies change and technology is constantly
developing.
The Salesforce Lightning case
If the importance of retaining customers is obvious everywhere, it certainly is at
Salesforce. In fact, they say it costs 5 times less to retain old customers than to
gain new ones and, therefore, concentrating on retaining them is key for any
business.
In order to achieve the best results for its customers, the company has launched
Salesforce Lightening, an experience that seeks to collect ideas from its customers
throughout the world, involving them in the launch of new products and adding
the improvements they propose; after all, they are the ones working with the product
on a daily basis.
How can you get such a large community consisting of 2.3 million developers around
the world to agree on something? They can all participate in this initiative by
exchanging ideas via Google Hangout and sharing information via Google Drive.
Making difficult easy: the Woolworths case
Woolworths, an Australian supermarket, sells all kinds of products, from food to fuel.
They have a workforce of over 200,000 people and, therefore, logistics becomes a
complicated issue.
The company stresses that Google Apps allows them to share information
with everybody, among the various shops and offices, and to improve work
organisation. Clive Whincup, Woolworths’ CIO, considers Google Drive as a truly
efficient way of connecting with his staff in various locations using a range of media,
such as Docs or Hangouts.
Concha y Toro, commitment to innovation
The number one wine producer in Latin America, the Chilean company Concha y
Toro, is present in 145 countries and has been using Google Apps since 2009.
They began to use Google Apps when they needed to enhance their mobility and
reduce costs. To meet those needs, they realised that by using this solution they
encouraged creativity and innovation, two aspects that have been key aspects for
them.
The company also stressed how easy it was to implement the solution, as many
employees were already familiar with Google Apps tools, such as Gmail for their
personal use, and the comfort of using the platform’s various functions, which
makes work much easier.
A young view of Google Apps: the WeWork and Made.com cases
Tony Fadell, CEO of Nest and father of the iPod, also participated in these interviews
and spoke of the importance of design and of a new way of looking at what we
create to achieve products that improve the experiences of those who use them and
convince those who have never used them through their user-friendly nature.
That simplicity, together with efficiency, is what they stress at WeWork, a co-working
centre for start-ups where they use Google Apps so that all users can access the
centralised information and have the same opportunities. Arrive, cooperate and
share ideas to grow is a philosophy that this space shares via Google Apps.
Another example of young businesses that are expanding is the web for the
distribution of designer furniture, Made.com, which operates 100% online and has
seen a great level of growth in recent months. They launch no less than 2 collections
a week and, if they do not achieve good results quickly, they remove them. This
forces them to work quickly and to cooperate. Google Apps is their way of
cooperating, working and communicating on a daily basis.
In addition to all the success stories in many different sectors, Forrester presents
another feature that is shared by all of them: the conclusions of the study reveals
that Google Apps customers save up to 30%.
If you would like your company to be another success story, contact us to learn
about Google Apps from the experts in cloud based solutions: Intelligence Partner.
