WHY GOOGLE APPS SHOULD BE USED EXCLUSIVELY VIA WEB BROWSER
Accessing Google Apps via Google Chrome is easier, more efficient and will cost an organization considerably less to support over the long term (than if the organization used email clients like Outlook or Mail). Google Apps mail (Gmail), contacts and calendars are all designed to be used with Google Chrome (the company’s Web browser). Using Chrome is the simplest, most efficient, and most stable way to use these tools. This keeps the ongoing costs of using Google Apps very low, because very little can go wrong and require support.
[1] Compatibility
Using an email client like Outlook or Mail only introduces additional variables, that can cause issues to arise. Google does not make Outlook or Mail. When changes are made to Google Apps, testing is performed to ensure compatibility with Chrome, but compatibility with email clients like Outlook and Mail is not prioritized.
[2] Stability
Fewer moving parts = stability. Accessing Google Apps via Google Chrome is the most direct, straightforward path. Email clients like Outlook and Mail bring with them a host of settings – server name, port #s, authentication and security certificates – that can all create issues.
[3] Uniformity
When Google Apps is accessed exclusively via Google Chrome, the organization can ensure that each staff member is using the same tools in the same manner. In this way, documentation is more efficient and easier to maintain, and troubleshooting issues is incredibly streamlined. For staff, this also means that no matter what Internet-connected computer they use to access Google Apps, whether it’s on their work computer, a home computer, or on a shared/borrowed computer used while traveling, their interface and experience will be identical.
[4] Performance
Email clients like Outlook and Mail can create significant havoc on computer performance. By eliminating this tax, and exclusively using a Web browser for email, contacts and calendaring, staff should see a noticeable improvement in the speed and performance of their computers.
[5] Summary
Yes, many people love their Outlook or Mail, and yes, change is difficult. But in the long run, this is a change for the better.