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GMail has come a long way since it was launched as a simple web mail application in 2004. Users can now integrate Google Docs and Calendar gadgets into their navigation bar, making it easy to search documents, receive alerts, and view calendar info all within GMail’s interface. In addition to chat, users can now also use GMail to send text messages. The fusing of these communication tools is all part of the evolution of GMail, which Product Manager Keith Coleman sees as a problem-solving process, rather than a master plan to dominate the web mail market.
“The future of our products is less about having any specific vision for what you should be able to do in the product and is more about solving problems that users have,” Coleman told eWEEK. “Some [solutions] will eventually stick and those are the ones that become our new products or change the future or our products.” As GMail continues to become an increasingly robust email solution, Google Apps productivity tools have officially attained enterprise-ready status. Google received a SAS 70 Type II certification, meaning that independent security analysts have evaluated Google’s technical process and determined that Apps controls are operating effectively. Google’s commitment to creating and improving upon secure, innovative, intuitive applications benefits more than just their customers. In a recent blog post, Eran Feigenbaum, Google Apps Director of Security, admits “we use the very same services that we offer to our users for our own email, documents, project team sites and calendars.” |