Google gains on Microsoft with hosted security offering

With every Google enterprise announcement Microsoft must hear the war drums beating.

Sure, Google owns the search market. And, as a result, the company is the online advertising leader. But Microsoft has all those Windows desktops out there, and owns the corporate market, right?

Well, maybe not for long.

Sure, software as a service and cloud computing don't sound as sexy as free e-mail and pay-per-click, but they are the wave of the future, experts say.

On Thursday, Google unveiled a re-branded Web Security for Enterprise based on the Postini technology it acquired last year. The Web-hosted service protects corporate Web and e-mail users from viruses, spyware, and malicious Web sites, and extends protection directly to remote workers if needed.

This is all part of Google's hosted apps business, but targeted at corporate customers instead of consumers who expect--and get--hosted services for free, at least for now.

By putting traditional desktop applications, e-mail, word processing, and calendars into the cloud, Google relieves corporations of the administrative burden of having to buy hardware, install software, and hire people to maintain it.

This greatly reduces the costs for corporations and allows them to focus on their core businesses. And by beefing up the security of its hosted offerings, Google has removed a large impediment to widespread corporate adoption of its hosted services.

"Securing the current enterprise environment is futile," Philippe Courtot, chief executive of Qualys, which offers security as a service to corporations, said in an interview on Friday. "This is a problem Microsoft should have fixed a long time ago."

With an arsenal of search, Web-hosted apps and the advertising-supported "money-making machine...Google is going to kill Microsoft," he predicted.

Google's offering is compelling for corporations because of the ease with which they can be up and running without any IT headaches, says Nitesh Dhanjani, senior manager and leader of application security services at Ernst & Young.

"Microsoft says 'here's the software.' Google says 'it's already there; we just create the accounts and you can start today,'" Dhanjani says. "We're seeing, from an IT perspective, that in the next couple of years services will move into the cloud, even security services, so Google is really thinking ahead."

Microsoft certainly recognizes this trend. The company turned its FrontBridge acquisition into Microsoft Exchange Hosted Services, which includes security. But the software giant doesn't have a pure, software-as-a-service-based messaging security platform like Google or MessageLabs, says Paul Roberts, senior analyst for enterprise security at The 451 Group.

"Microsoft clearly sees the light that the Web and the Internet are the OS (operating system) of the future and that selling shrink-wrapped software isn't going to be feasible," Roberts says.

Peter Firstbrook, a program director at Gartner, summed it up this way: "I wouldn't ring the bells yet, but it is another feather in Google's cap; another service they can offer so that they become more strategic to their customers."

[The_Decider]

No company worth its stock price is going to want to put its data into a so-called cloud and have it held hostage.

Especially if that company is widely known as an arrogant company hell bent on controlling everyone's data for its own profit. Like say, Google.

[MMC Racing]

So a minor revision to Google's Postini offering is the death of Microsoft? Sure.. The only reason this is an enterprise app that actual works from Google is because they bought an established product.

[delf76]

"With an arsenal of search, Web-hosted apps and the advertising-supported "money-making machine...Google is going to kill Microsoft," he predicted"

Security Services have been around for a LONG time. I don't forsee this beeing the thing that kills Microsoft. I found this article to be poorly written.

[krosavcheg]

www qualys com

[Stating]

This is just nuts!

Oh, so the company's IT Department doesn't have to worry about hardware? What do the users run cloud computing apps on, cardboard boxes? What about apps like accounting systems, inventory management, project planning, database, data mining, financial services, etc. etc. This sounds like people who claim the solution to OPEC is to run your car on french fry grease.

[jackdaniels08]

The_Decider, the guy with the first comment reminds me of that critic in the early 90's who said that internet retail would never take off. Nobody would want to buy stuff on the internet. Nobody will ever give their credit card number. Nobody will ever do online banking. It will never take off right? I'm just wondering, is The_Decider actually the same critic that made that genius prediction? Ladies and gents, the future is here. Like it or not cloud computing is the future and it is inevitable. Don't worry, in a few years you will hardly remember how you ever did without cloud computing just like many hardly remember how they ever went about their day without googling for answers or cell phones to receive and send calls everywhere anytime of the day. Listen to the IBM Business Partners Leadership Conference which took place in Los Angeles May 1, 2008 with Google CEO Eric Schmidt. It is a great video which runs about 50 minutes long. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXtn6NpitHY

I agree with other comments on this, who is going to trust cloud computing? Not me or any company that I consult to that is for sure. I was also hoping in the early days that hosted apps and storage would become a packaged product that large corporations could purchase and run internally bit it seems the main deevelopment in this area is just for Google or Microsft to win a market that really shouldn't exist.

[JCPayne]

Google could start replacing the Windows Shell with their own....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_shell_replacement

* Lite Step:
http://www.lsdev.org/

[jlm429]

At the end of the day, mid/large corps aren't ready to send data w/ SSNs into the cloud. This is a push into small business, and it's not anything new. The only place I've seen Google in the Enterprise front is with search hardware, and I think they've tested email that's hosted locally, but I could be wrong. This article just sounds like more MS bashing to me.

[jacomo]

"The Web and the Internet are the OS ..."
I disagree as I am sure Google does. The Web and the Internet are transport and or access tools to gain access to and use of the OS which in Googles case is and will be its nationwide and world wide Data Centers interconnected via Fiber.
The only piece that is missing is Google opening up its Data Centers to local Serivce Providers to drop off a Fiber connection and bypass the best effort Tier#1 Internet/Web nets.As a Service Provider (ILEC/LEC/CATV). This will address our daily Local links and we'd only need use of the Internet for when we travel or do not have a local Google Link (Google Roaming agreement anyone?) All we (SP) need is a partnership with Google and a Fiber Link (we'd pay for) to dominate our Local Broadband Wired and Wireless markets and provide our subscribers with the highest quality, low latency links they crave for their Video/Audio/Photo sharing, Multi Player Gaming and VoiceIP traffic. We own the last mile and only need an improved Worldwide link.

Jim A

[memphisblue1]

Microsoft offers both cloud and desktop email security and mail, in the cloud it's called Business Productivity Online. ForeFront Security Solutions are also available for Exchange mail on the desktop, so why the big article as if Google were doing something new and great?

[benjaminstraight]

Security is good.