Google Enterprise boss says company is ‘doubling down’ on business services, targeting Microsoft

[Corey]

In an interview with AllThingsD, Amit Singh, Google’s (GOOG) VP of Enterprise, said the company is embracing the consumerization of the enterprise in 2013 based on the successes its seen with Google Drive and Google Apps this year. Singh says Google is finally confident that it can deliver enterprise services and tools that rival those of Microsoft (MSFT) with cloud applications that scale better and have stronger security. Not only that, but Singh believes Microsoft is stuck in the past, creating services built around the desktop and not around Web services.

“It’s time to really embrace [the enterprise],” Singh told AllThingsD. “We’re doubling down on the Enterprise. It’s an increasingly important part of Google, and a place where we plan to invest and to support our customers.”

So how is Google looking to steal away Microsoft’s enterprise customers? With QuickOffice features that match Microsoft Office point for point.

“Our goal is to get to the 90 percent of users who don’t need to have the most advanced features of Office,” said Singh. ”We know the gaps between our features and theirs. We’re improving them week by week. We’re going to get to the 90 percent.”

Having a carbon-copy of Microsoft Office won’t be enough though, and Singh knows it. In the end, Singh understands that success is directly related to developers and ecosystems.

“The way you look at a successful business is its ecosystem,” said Singh. “For us at Google, it’s all about the ecosystem and developers.”

As a company known for its robust Web services, Google is well-positioned to sway users who are looking to escape Microsoft’s tight grip on the enterprise. Perhaps Singh and Google can finally make the enterprise “sexy.”

 

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