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Google may be moving too slowly in building up Google Apps' enterprise social networking (ESN) features, at a time when this type of software has become a key component in workplace collaboration suites.

On Wednesday, the company took another step in its effort to tailor its Google+ consumer social networking site into one that Apps customers can use to boost collaboration among their employees.

Although moves in that direction are welcome for the Apps email and collaboration suite, Google might do well to speed up the pace, since demand for ESN software has been growing robustly, a trend expected to intensify in coming years.

"We have to think about this as the art of the possible," said Forrester Research analyst Rob Koplowitz, referring to the development of Google+'s ESN capabilities.

ESN software provides Facebook- and Twitter-like functionality adapted for workplace use, including employee profiles, activity streams, microblogging, document sharing, content rating, blogging, discussion groups and online communities.

Spending on ESN products grew almost 40 percent last year to $767.4 million, and is expected to increase at a 42 percent compound rate through 2016, when it will reach almost $4.5 billion, according to IDC.

Microsoft recently paid $1.2 billion to acquire ESN vendor Yammer, a deal intended to boost enterprise social collaboration capabilities in SharePoint, Office, Dynamics and other Microsoft products.

IBM, VMware and Cisco have added ESN components to their broader enterprise collaboration suites, while Oracle and Salesforce.com have done the same to their broader enterprise application stacks. And there is a thriving ecosystem of pure-play ESN vendors like NewsGator, Jive Software and Telligent.

Although Apps was launched in 2006, Google only started working on an ESN component last year, when it made it possible for Apps administrators to offer Google+ to their end users as part of their suite.

This week, Google threw in an initial set of IT controls to let Apps administrators set companywide default restriction settings for Google+ posts and multiparty video conferencing via the Hangouts feature. These IT controls are available to customers using the Education, Government and Business editions of Apps.

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Google too slow with Apps enterprise social networking development

29-08-2012 16:23 Officials from Facebook have confirmed 101-year-old Florence Detlor as the world's most senior user of the social networking site. KPIX's Kiet Do spoke to Detlor about her meeting with Mark Zuckerberg.

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The world's oldest Facebook user - Video

Google may be moving too slowly in building up Google Apps' enterprise social networking (ESN) features, at a time when this type of software has become a key component in workplace collaboration suites.

On Wednesday, the company took another small step in its effort to tailor its Google+ consumer social networking site into one that Apps customers can use to boost collaboration among their employees.

Although moves in that direction are welcome for the Apps email and collaboration suite, Google might do well to speed up the pace, since demand for ESN software has been growing robustly, a trend expected to intensify in coming years.

"We have to think about this as the art of the possible," said Forrester Research analyst Rob Koplowitz, referring to the development of Google+'s ESN capabilities.

ESN software provides Facebook- and Twitter-like functionality adapted for workplace use, including employee profiles, activity streams, microblogging, document sharing, content rating, blogging, discussion groups and online communities.

Spending on ESN products grew almost 40 percent last year to US$767.4 million, and is expected to increase at a 42 percent compound rate through 2016, when it will reach almost $4.5 billion, according to IDC.

Microsoft recently paid $1.2 billion to acquire ESN vendor Yammer, a deal intended to boost enterprise social collaboration capabilities in SharePoint, Office, Dynamics and other Microsoft products.

IBM, VMware and Cisco have added ESN components to their broader enterprise collaboration suites, while Oracle and Salesforce.com have done the same to their broader enterprise application stacks. And there is a thriving ecosystem of pure-play ESN vendors like NewsGator, Jive Software and Telligent.

Although Apps was launched in 2006, Google only started working on an ESN component last year, when it made it possible for Apps administrators to offer Google+ to their end users as part of their suite.

This week, Google threw in an initial set of IT controls to let Apps administrators set companywide default restriction settings for Google+ posts and multiparty video conferencing via the Hangouts feature. These IT controls are available to customers using the Education, Government and Business editions of Apps.

Excerpt from:
Google Should Speed up Apps' Enterprise Social Networking Development

Summary: A new study has suggested that CEOs in Asia appreciate the value of social networking -- but keep a tight rein on how it is used.

A focused study of CEOs in multi-national companies has found that although the adoption of mobile devices is on the increase, Asian business leaders are taking pains to restrict their use of social media.

Why? The dreaded idea of always being accessible.

Added Value Saffron Hill surveyed 32 CEOs for the study across Singapore, Hong Kong and India. Researchers found that CEOs "valued their privacy" and understand the potential social media has for their businesses -- but put boundaries in place to stop their work and personal lives merging.

"There are all these requests I need to accept and I just don't want to get started on dialogues," one Hong Kong CEO commented.

Internally and during working hours, social media plays a different role. Some respondents have provided space for their Gen-Y employees to offer their opinions through social media, understanding that unless a platform is provided, their employees may voice their thoughts outside of the company.

In addition, some CEOs use social networks as a B2B tool for marketing and promotion. Although this is unlikely to be effective inmaintaining relationships with consumerswithout also creating a customer-based platform, social networking can be used for news, updates and in order to partner with other companies.

The report says that Asian CEOs are more accessible today than ever before -- mainly due to smartphone adoption, tablets and email. This does allow business leaders to respond quickly to brand communication, but unless the messages are relevant, it is unlikely they will respond. Emails were, unsurprisingly, the preferred form for messages.

CEOs appear to be pragmatic about brand communication but do expect honesty and respect. "As long as it's done sensibly -- like an SMS with 'ADV' at the beginning of the message -- I appreciate the honesty," said one CEO.

The respondents may have reservations over social media and instant communication, but mobile devices proved popular -- especially those made by Apple.

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Are Asian CEOs cautious of social networks?

Google has started publicly testing an initial set of enterprise social networking (ESN) features for Google+, adding a key collaboration component for Google Apps customers.

Google first indicated last year that it planned to release an enterprise version of Google+ and that it was already using it internally.

On Wednesday, the company released in preview mode the first Google+ features tailored specifically for workplace use, aimed at Google Apps, the cloud email and collaboration suite for schools, companies and government agencies.

"During this preview period, organisations that have gone Google will be able to use the business features of Google+ for free through the end of 2013 while we continue to add more features and administrative controls designed for organisations," wrote Clay Bavor, product management director, Google Apps, in a blog post.

Google+ was launched as a consumer social networking site in mid-2011, but by creating a version for workplaces, Google is joining the hot ESN trend. ESN software provides Facebook- and Twitter-like functionality adapted for workplace use, including employee profiles, activity streams, microblogging, document sharing, content rating, blogging, discussion groups and online communities.

ESN software is provided by specialty vendors like NewsGator, Jive Software and Socialtext, but larger vendors like Cisco, Microsoft, IBM, Oracle, SAP and Salesforce.com are adding ESN modules and capabilities to their larger collaboration suites and enterprise applications.

Thus, gaining an ESN component is critical for Google Apps, since ESN by now is considered an essential element in enterprise collaboration suites.

The ESN features of Google+ have been in private testing by customers like Kaplan and Banshee Wines, the company said.

Specifically, this first set of ESN features in Google+ includes more granular control over content posted on the service. "When you create a post you can mark it as restricted. Restricted posts are private to your organisation and can never be re-shared with anyone outside," he wrote. However, it's also possible to share posts with partners and others outside of an organisation's domain.

Google+ is also gaining IT administration controls to let IT staffers establish policies for usage and content sharing.

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Google gets enterprise social networking boost