Gmail steps on Microsoft Exchange heels

Corporate service a mail service Google Gmail for the first time in five years of development in the market is recognized by the strong contender for Microsoft Exchange Online and other cloud mail services in a segment of services for the organizations from 5 thousand jobs and more. It is said in the report Gartner.

According to Mathew Kaine (Matthew Cain), the vice president of Gartner, Gmail was never a mainstream in the market of mail cloud services so its way to corporate recognition was long and thorny. "Whereas Gmail share in the market of corporate mail makes about 1%, in the market of cloud mail services for the enterprises nearly 50% fall to its share", - he noted.

According to Gartner, now the segment of cloud mail services occupies 3-4% of all market of corporate mail, but by 2016 on this segment 20% of market size, and in 2020 – 55% is necessary.

According to Kaine, in addition to Microsoft Exchange, Google Gmail it is the only system of corporate mail which showed growth recently. Other email providers - Novell GroupWise and IBM Notes/Domino/ Domino – missed market opportunities. Cisco refused development of the direction of e-mail, and service VMware Zimbra only got to focus of attention of the enterprises.

At the same time the offer of Google for a corporate segment is not complete. In particular, the company is focused on that functionality which has mass demand. The large organizations with serious requirements to the organization of work of mail do not find a number of specific opportunities in Gmail. For example, it is fair for banks.

Though in general strengths of Gmail is the successful interface and basic functions, regarding deeper settings it is not present is so flexible, and it often happens it is necessary for large enterprises. Large system integrators and corporate customers note such shortcomings of Gmail as insufficient compatibility with other solutions and opaque approach to implementation of continuity and security.

Kaine says that the market of cloud mail services is in a maturing stage. According to him, most the organizations should make updating of on-premise of models by 2014.

At the moment, according to him, less risky approach in the e-mail organization of services of the enterprise level consists in creation of the hybrid environment when a part of mailboxes is placed in a cloud, and a part – on physical servers on the party of the enterprise. The popularity of such approach plays into the hands of Microsoft which is very strong on on-premise the market of e-mail.

Keen competition between Microsoft and Google will make both vendors stronger, experts of Gartner predict. However, it will be very difficult for other suppliers to survive in this market.