Step 5 of the DIY Google Apps Migration Workshop

Step 1: Domain Confirmation & Migration Workshop Overview
Step 2: Google Apps Registration & Domain Verification
Step 3: Google Apps Configuration
Step 4: Migrating Mail, Contacts & Calendar

• One-time switch to Google Apps configurations

• How to go get the details you’ll need to migrate existing mail, calendar and contacts.

• Third-party application and device configuration i.e. Outlook, Apple Mail, BlackBerry and iPhone

Step 4 of the DIY Google Apps Migration Workshop

If you’re just now joining the workshop, you’re just in time! Using the tutorials I’ve prepared, you should be able to get Google Apps up and running for your domain this weekend. The consolidated view of the steps we’ve covered is right here or check out a specific video below.

Step 3: Google Apps Configuration
Step 2: Google Apps Registration & Domain Verification
Step 1: Domain Confirmation & Migration Workshop Overview

Subscribe to the RSS feed or check back on Monday for the final step of migrating to Google Apps!

• Adding Additional Applications

• Update User Profile

• Domain Settings

• Email, Calendar and Mobile Settings

Step 3 of the DIY Google Apps Migration Workshop

In the event that you’re just now joining the workshop series, you can take a look at the previous steps by going to Google Apps Migration or clicking one of the links below.

Step 2: Google Apps Registration & Domain Verification
Step 1: Domain Confirmation & Migration Workshop Overview

Check back in the next day or two or just subscribe to the RSS feed

• Register for the 30 Day Free Trial of Google Apps Premier Edition requires a credit card. Google will not bill you until the 31st day and during that time you can cancel or downgrade at anytime. The Premier Edition also gives you access to several of the migration tools that will make your life much easier.

• When registering your administrator account, I strongly recommend using Admin@YOUR-DOMAIN instead of your existing email address.

• Leave a comment on the video site if you get stuck along the way.

Step 2 of the DIY Google Apps Migration Workshop

Look for the next step tomorrow or just subscribe to our RSS feed

Step 1 of the DIY Google Apps Migration Workshop

Look for the next step in the next day or two, just subscribe to our RSS feed

Who is best suited to participate in the Google Apps Migration Workshop?

People from small businesses/organizations that are not currently using Google Apps.

What is the DIY Google Apps Migration Workshop going to cover?

While I tagged it DIY (Do It Yourself) you wont be alone. I’ll be guiding you through every step of the way. We’ll cover every and I mean everything, that you’ll need to get Google Apps setup for your domain.

When is it taking place? What if I can’t attend?

We’ll start the first step today, Monday, July 12th after 1PM PST.

Where will the workshop take place?

I’ll be posting the workshop materials right here on the Rubis Solutions website.

Why are you holding a free workshop and giving this content away?

I learn something from someone, somewhere online everyday, so I thought it would be nice to share. And then of course there’s the fact (my opinionated fact that is) that Google Apps is the most value added tool for businesses…especially small business, organizations, solopreneurs and hobbiests with a penchant for awesomeness.

Alright folks, it’s a big week coming up. Check back a little later this afternoon or subscribe to the RSS feed for the workshop posts.

By far a much better solution than the aforementioned, Dlvr.it has over the past several months become my de-facto personal feed publisher. All my personal feeds have went off flawlessly through Dlvr.it. It’s a powerful little tool, so after getting some finicky Feedburner Socialize results over the last few weeks, I finally decided to turn over the Rubis RSS feed to Dlvr.it. Much to my surprise, I realized that Dlvr.it has a Google Analytics setting for source feeds which all but sinks the Socialize function.

To be fair, I didn’t make the time to figure out what was going on with Feedburner’s Socialize feature, so I have no idea if it’s my problem or working as designed. Nonetheless, if you just need something quick and easy to publish feeds checkout Dlvr.it

After over a year of working with Google Apps, I’ve heard my fair share of frustrated complaints and horror stories about how ambiguous migrating to Google Apps can be. Honestly, I’ve lost count of how many distressed phone calls I’ve received after botched Google Apps migration attempts.

From my notes…

• “Nearly a month ago I was setup on Google Apps but I don’t like the fact that I can’t use Outlook anymore.”
• “We setup Google Apps for our business internally but for some reason we’re getting duplicate emails and we can’t share calendars.”
• “Deploying Google Apps is easy, just change the MX record and you’re done.”

It’s not that Google Apps setup and migration is rocket science, it’s just that like any other technology there are several common oversights. Let’s get real folks, in all likelihood you’ll only have to setup Google Apps once. Why not get the right information at the right time and avoid the headache?

Want to learn more?

Check back on Monday or subscribe to the RSS feed.

After getting over the “it’s just email” hurdle, a quick demo of what is included in Google Apps typically jump starts the “endless possibility” discussion.

Fortunately, while it’s true that Google Apps doesn’t include pure play CRM, Accounting and Marketing applications, it does support an increasing number of integration options that are a simple click away. Yes, you read that right…a click away…in Google Apps you can deploy a fully functioning CRM solution within minutes. For instance, did you know that SalesForce works with Google? Or how about EchoSign the #1 electronic signature service that integrates with both Google Apps and Salesforce. Then there’s…

• Intuit’s Online Payroll solution
• BatchBlue for Social CRM
• MailChimp for email campaigns

…plus hundreds of other integrated apps that provide signifiant business benefits. To say that Google Apps is a one trick pony is to overlook the endless possibilities it offers.

Here’s a quick video that I put together showing how to launch BatchBook CRM with Google Apps.

Thanks to The Friendly Fiend for the header image.

Imagine what it would be like if you had to buy your own generator, put gas in it, fire it up every night after work just to do the laundry or watch TV? What would it be like to wake up on the hottest of nights this summer because the generator quit and there’s no air conditioning? Imagine having to grab your flash light, traipse out behind the garage and figure out why the generator isn’t running. Not fun. Or what happens when you finally throw down for a new flat screen television and your generator sputters to a halt as a result of the increased power requirements?

Okay, that’s a little dramatic…or is it?

True, most people don’t purchase a generator to power their home…or business for that matter. Cloud computing is a particularly noteworthy solution for small businesses. It provides the benefit of allowing you to focus on what you do best without having to worry about the costly hardware, software and maintenance of your IT infrastructure. In a financial sense, you don’t have to be good with numbers to appreciate the cost associated with owning and maintaining your own servers, let alone hosting and maintaining your own inner office business applications.

Cloud Computing is Internet-based computing, whereby shared resources, software, and information are provided to computers and other devices on demand, like the electricity grid. – Wikipedia

Thanks to Vizzzual.com on Flickr for the header image.