The Future of Email

Move from GroupWise to Gmail

For many years, the firm used Novell GroupWise for its email and calendaring system.  About two years ago, we switched to what is today called Google for Work as our email system.  In making this change, we lost some features, had to go through the difficulties associated with migrating all of our existing data to the new system, and had to relearn how to work with email the Google way.  Many have expressed to me their unhappiness with the change, so I thought I would spend today's post explaining why we made the change.

The change was not made lightly.  I have  had a personal Gmail account since early 2005, when the Gmail was still in beta testing.  I created a test domain with Google back 2008.  For several years, I judged Gmail not ready for the enterprise environment, but kept watching it improve.  We eventually created a test group that worked with the test system for many months and eventually made the decision in early 2013 to move the firm and its domain to manage Gmail.  The data and user migration itself took nearly a year to complete.

Reasons for the Change

There were many reasons for the change, including the following:

• Mobility: Gmail offers a much easier way to connect to iPhone and Android devices, as well as other access outside the office.  By removing the need for a client, you can check email on any computer with Internet access from anywhere in the world.  Although GroupWise had a web component, it was limited in its ability and difficult to use for many functions.
  
• Disaster Recovery: because Gmail is available from anywhere at any time, a disaster event that shuts down an office does not put us out of business.  We had two snow related events that caused an office to be shut down for several days while using GroupWise.  Attorneys could not access mail because the server containing their mailbox could nto get power.  Should such an event happen today, attorneys can still access email from home or a coffee shop without having to worry that the mail server is sitting in a powerless building.
  
• Better Mail Management: GroupWise tended to slow down the more mail you kept stored in your mailbox.  Gmail is designed so that even if you have tens of thousands of emails in your inbox, it does not get slowed down trying to sort and present them to you every time you open your account.
  
• Spam Filtering: Our spam filtering service went out of business in 2013.  A new service was going to cost as much per user as all of Gmail, which includes spam filtering.
  
• Server Proliferation: maintaining GroupWise required the maintenance of a mail server, a second server to connect phones to the mail system, a third server to handle web and internet interface issues, as well as space on six servers in various satellite offices.  Maintaining all that at a time when IT staff was shrinking was becoming too difficult.
  
• Remote Access Complaints: When using GroupWise remotely or from offices that did not have a local server, there were quite valid complaints about how slowly GroupWise operated.  By contrast, Gmail is designed to operate over low bandwidth Internet connections and works much better under such circumstances.
  
• Extra Features: In addition to mail, contacts and calendars, Google for Work offers a wide range of other features and add-ons, including Google Drive, video conferencing, instant chat, etc.  It also offers additional benefits behind the scenes benefits such as encrypted communications for clients who demand it, and management of cell phone devices to protect the security of email content.
  
• Elimination of several bugs: GroupWise had been giving us problems with corruption of archived mail, as well as issues related to addressing sent mail properly.  These are issues we were able to leave behind by moving to Google.
  
• Better Backup and Recovery: Use of Google Vault allows us to search for and recover any emails sent to or from the firm.  This makes tracking disputes over whether an email was sent much easier.  It also allows us to find content a user might have accidentally deleted but now needs.

Despite the difficulty of any transition and despite the loss of a few features we may have like in GroupWise, I think the switch was a major improvement for the firm.

Alternative Solutions:

Some have asked why the firm did not switch to a Microsoft Exchange system.  For me, this would have been worse choice than staying with GroupWise.  The problems of server proliferation and staff time spent fixing data problems or hardware and software glitches would have become worse.  Exchange would not only be more expensive and time consuming to run, but would probably result in increased down time.  It would increased IT staffing needs, resulting in increased costs.  Also, because Exchange must be updated every few years, the costs and inconveniences of upgrade would have made things worse.

Another option would have been to have a hosted Exchange server.  This essentially would shift the hassles of running the exchange server to a third party.  We looked at this option.  In addition to being more expensive, we would be reliant on the quality of services of whomever was managing our server.  Service and support might not live up to promises.  We also found greatly increased costs for various options that might need to be added later, such as encryption for clients would add extra costs.

A third alternative would have been to go with a competing cloud solution, such as Microsoft Office 365.  Microsoft did not start this service until mid-2011, after we were well into testing Google.  In its infancy, Microsoft had a great many bugs to work out.  It also offered few extras and was charging a great deal more and offering less features.  In addition, the web client was rather weak and limited, and using a new mail client would reduce our ability to access mail from outside the office and create additional expenses.  Google's solution made much more sense.

There were a number of other mail services that we considered.  But I was attracted to the security of having a large established multinational corporation that that could back up its data all over the world, and unlikely to go bankrupt to be a strong selling point for Google over many smaller companies offering similar services. 

Using a New Interface.

Of course, no solution is perfect, and I know people have complaints about Gmail.  One of the most commonly expressed is frustration with the user interface, i.e. the web page that shows the inbox.  Many people more familiar with other mail clients have found it difficult to get used to this.  

For a time, we considered adding a mail client to work with Gmail.  We tested Mozilla Thunderbird extensively, but were not satisfied with how it worked and decided not to send to a test group.

We are still evaluating whether to use MS Outlook as a mail client that can connect to Gmail.  This will give users the ability to do their mail in Outlook without having to use the Gmail web interface.

I have concerns about this option, not the least of which is that it is another point of failure.  It is another program that the help desk would need to learn and support.  There is the cost of getting Outlook for many users not using MS Office.  There are configuration issues related to keeping Outlook in sync with Gmail.  There will inevitably be difficulties with users who use Outlook sometimes and the web interface other times, with different features available depending on how it is accessed.  Obviously, Outlook would not be available on every device you might access your mail account, meaning there would inevitably be some back and forth.  I also don't put it past Microsoft to create bugs when connecting Outlook to Gmail, or eventually cutting off Google's ability to use its patented ActiveSync technology in order to force users to drop Gmail for Microsoft's solution.

These concerns aside, we have been evaluating Outlook as an option and have been testing its benefits and limits.

Gmail Will Remain for the Foreseeable Future

Some have asked if we might switch our Email to Office 365 or another provider.  I am still convinced that Gmail provides the best option for the firm.  Even if I were to be convinced there is something better, it would take several years to plan and execute a conversion of all of our data.  I am unlikely to put the firm through such a disruptive event again unless there was a marked benefit to the change.  At present, I do not see that with any other service or system.

What are your thoughts?

I have  tried to express my view in this article.  But you the users have a say in where we may move in the future.  If there are good reasons to change, we are always open to looking at other solutions.  You can make your opinions known by taking the poll below.  Click on the link below to take the firm's poll on email systems:

Take the Poll

See the Results

The results will update as more people take the poll, so feel free to check back.

PDF - how to go paperless

Ok, so we won't be getting rid of paper completely any time soon.  But making use of PDF files can greatly reduce the wear and tear on your printer, cut toner costs, and save a few trees as well.

Why PDF?

Since PDF is a virtually universally used format, there are no problems with anyone being able to open it in other offices, or seeing your file in a way other than the original format you intended.  I recommend this anytime you want to send a document that does not need any further editing by the recipients.

PDF files are not meant to be edited.  They are meant to be final documents.  If you plan to work on the document further or are sending it to others for further editing, please use a different format until the final document is complete.

Creating PDF files

There are several very easy ways to create a PDF.  If you are creating the document in WordPerfect.  There is an option to "publish to PDF" which will create a PDF file for you.  This is a great way to finalize a document, at the point where you don't want the recipient to make changes or look at your metadata.

If you are using Gmail, or Google Drive, you have an option to "save as PDF" as one of the printer options.  This will generate a PDF file saved to your computer.

There are times, however, when we want to create a PDF outside of WordPerfect or Google Apps.  For several years now, the firm has been deploying "BioPDF" on all new computers.  This shows up on your computer as a printer (look in Devices and Printers" in your Control Panel to see if it is there).   Any program that allows printing should allow you to "print" to this device.  Once BioPDF has received the print job, it generates a PDF file and asks you to name it and save it, creating a document that looks as if you had sent it to a traditional printer.  Just like that, you have your PDF.

If you do not have BioPDF installed, call the help desk.  We can help you get it installed.  This program will also generate files in PDF-A format, now required by some courts.  It will also let you generate files in other formats, such as TIFF, which is helpful for use in some other programs.

The last way to create a PDF is using your scanner.  Do not use this option if you already have an electronic version of the document.  Scanning is the worst way to create a PDF.  Unlike the other ways listed above, scanning essentially takes a picture of the document.  This means the file size will be several times larger than if created in other ways.  It also means the document will be much less useful in that one will not be able to search for words or cut and paste from the document.  Obviously, if you have paper, this may be the only way to go.  But if you have an electronic version, use BioPDF to create the file.

Editing PDF Files

The firm's preferred PDF document reader is PDF X-Change Viewer.  Unlike Adobe Reader, PDF-Xchange will let you do far more than look at a document.  You can do pretty much anything you would do with a paper document.  You can draw on it, stamp it with various markings, write notes on the paper, insert or remove pages, highlight, underline, or cross out certain words (assuming the document is not scanned), and many other things.  You can even add a virtual post-it to the document using the "notes" feature.

Perhaps you are reluctant to use PDF, or feel you need to scan because you need to sign a document with your hand written signature.  A better option might be to scan just your signature, then paste that into whatever document you need.  In PDF X-Change, I have my signature, as well as my initials, saved as a stamp.  I can simply stamp my signature on any PDF document, resize it to fit, and then email the signed document as an attachment to the necessary recipients.

There is also a typewriter feature in PDF-Xchange viewer.  Say you have a PDF form.  You can simply put your cursor on the part needed to be filled out, type in your answer, and save your changes.

Fixing PDF files

Let's say you love working with PDF but are being sent PDF documents from someone not as tech savvy as you.  They are scanning their files and emailing them to you.  But you want to have the actual words in the document, not just the pictures.  Not a problem.  PDF X-Change Viewer has an OCR feature (Ocular Character Recognition).  This will scan the images for recognizable words and convert them back into text that can be copied or searched.  This feature was added in a relatively recent version of X-Change.  So if you do not have the feature, call the help desk to get upgraded.

One thing you are not really supposed to do is edit a PDF document.  Once a document is in PDF format, it is considered a final product.  You can mark it up, but you cannot really go in an change the text or do other things you do with a normal word processing file.  With WordPerfect X5 or higher, you can import a PDF document into a new WordPerfect file.  You may lose images and formatting, but it will OCR imaged text.  Once you have the text, you can reformat it the way you like, make whatever changes you like, and then save it again, either as a WordPerfect file, or republish to PDF.  The most current version of WordPerfect (X7) has gotten rather good at this.  If you think you could use this feature, but have an older version of WP, contact the help desk about an update.

Appointments

You may have already received appointment requests via email.  You are directed to respond in the email yes, no, or maybe to a meeting or other event.  If you respond "yes" the appointment is added to your calendar automatically.

Perhaps you have also figured out how to send such invitations.  If not, here is how.

In your Gmail calendar, create a new appointment, filling in all the details about it, as well as the date and time.  Over to the right, you will see an option to add "guests" to your event.  Enter the emails of people you wish to invite.  When you save the appointment, you will be prompted to send invitations to your guests.  If you select "yes" they will get the emails that allow them to add the event to to their calendars with a single click.

By default, guests are able to see the guest list and invite others.  If you leave these selected, recipients will be able to see the email addresses of others sent the same invitation and will also be able to forward the invitation to third parties who will also be able to join the event and see other addresses.  If you don't want this to happen, make sure to uncheck those options.  Also, there is an option, unchecked by default to let users modify the event.  This gives all recipients the ability to alter all aspects of the event, including date, time, location, or description.  These changes will be updated for everyone who received the invitation.  I recommend this option be left unchecked in most cases.

This will work even if your guests are not using Gmail.  The calendaring system used is an industry standard supported by most modern system.  If the recipient uses Outlook, or another online mail program like Yahoo or Hotmail, the system should work the same.  If the recipient does not have an up to date system, they will still receive an email with the information.  They just won't be able to transfer it to a calendar.  Users should be able to respond to such invitations on their smart phones as well as on a regular computer.

If you are planning a meeting or arranging an event, this is often much better than sending a regular email.  All responses are kept together in one place, and everyone has the event added to their calendar.  It avoid multiple replies and the back and forth that fills up your inbox with multiple messages where one would do.

Google Drive Basics

The first few weeks of this Blog have focused on cell phones.  That was the result of the recent upgrades we just had for all the partners.  However, now I hope to start addressing some other interesting and useful functions available for use.  I am going to focus today on Google Drive (formerly Google Docs).

Google Drive

We have been using Google Apps for almost two years now.  The primary reason for the move was for email.  Google Apps for Work, however, has literally hundreds of other applications which are available for use as part of our account.  One of the most popular is Drive

Many of you already use Google Drive for many functions.  For those less adventurous, here is a brief explanation.  Drive allows you to save documents online in your Google account, which you can access from anywhere you have Internet.  It works primarily with documents, spreadsheets, and slide shows (what Microsoft calls Powerpoint).  You can also store pictures, although I prefer to use Google Gallery for that (more on that another day).

Upload or Download Documents

You can also upload documents you have already created to Drive for access from other locations.  For documents not created in Drive, you generally cannot edit them online.  In those cases, Drive performs a function similar to DropBox.  You can upload your files for later download, but cannot really do much more than view them while stored online.   This can be a handy way to share documents with others, including those in other offices who may not have access to the same server as you, or even people outside the firm.  I think Drive is better than Dropbox in that you have more space, and it is better integrated with Gmail and other applications.

Edit Documents Online

For documents created online in Drive, you have much greater versatility.  You can edit these documents online.  You can even work collaboratively with others, both editing the same document at the same time.  You can also leave notes for other collaborators or look at what changes others have made to your documents. If you like, you have the ability to download documents you have created in various formats, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, PDF, RTF (good for WordPerfect), or HTML.  You can also print directly to your printer the same way you would an email.

Because I travel between offices a great deal, I find Drive much better for me that saving my files on any one server.  I have access to them from anywhere I have Internet.  I can use the Drive App on my phone or tablet to access them that way.  I can even dictate a document to Drive using the dictation software built into my phone or tablet. For documents shared with my staff, documents are accessible to everyone all the time, and we don't have to worry about someone else having the document open.  I can also access them from home or anywhere without worrying about VPN.

Avoiding File Limits

Many of you are aware of the 30 GB limit each user has on his or her Google Account.  This limit is a combination of all emails and Drive documents.  However, your limit only applies to documents you have uploaded to Drive.  Documents created online do not count toward your limit.  You can create an unlimited number of documents and store to your drive.  If you have a document already created on your computer, you can open it, select all, copy, then paste the contents into a new Drive document.  This does not count toward your limit.  You will also be able to edit it online.

Another sneaky way to avoid limits: Say you have a bunch of files you want to upload to Drive (not create online, just upload) but don't want to blow through your 30 GB limit.  You can create a free Gmail account, which gives only 15 GB of space.  Upload your files to that account, then share it with your margolisedelstein.com account.  You will have full access to the files from your work account, but the space will not count against your limits.  You can repeat with as many multiple free accounts as needed.

Drive Limitations

There are some limitation that make drive less attractive.  Its editor is nowhere near as advanced as WordPerfect or Microsoft Word.  If you use many advanced features, you will find Drive's editor frustrating.  For example, it cannot create a multi-column document like we use for the firm letterhead.  For most simple documents, however, it is just fine.  One option is to work on the basics of the document in Drive, and then download to a more traditional word processor for formatting once most of the content is complete.

Also, for purposes of file keeping, important documents that need to be retained should still be saved to the M: drive.  If you ever left the firm and your Google account deleted, all of your documents would be gone.  If you use Drive for work related material, be sure to download a copy to the appropriate location on the M: drive.

I have been asked, why not simply upload all of our files to Drive and do away with the M: drive and other network drives entirely?   Because the online editor is inadequate for many advanced needs, we still need to use a traditional word processor for much of our work.  There is no good interface that would allow a Word or WordPerfect user to open a document from Drive or save it to Drive.  Doing so is a multi-step process that is fine to do once in a while, but would become very tedious and time consuming for a legal secretary who may create or edit dozens of documents in one day.  Cloud storage for documents seems to be the way of the future, but for now, I am only recommending it as a supplement, not a replacement.

Security and Sharing

Security is always an important issue when work documents are concerned.  By default, only you have access to a file created on Drive (other than the IT Department who can access anything).  You have the ability to share the document with others.  The are many ways to share.  But I recommend only sharing with other specific people.  This is easy within the office, but if you are sharing with others outside the firm, they must have a Google account for access (a free Gmail account is fine).  Google uses that account name and password to ensure documents are only available to those you intend.

There are share options to share a document to the public without any authentication.  I do NOT recommend using this for any document related to firm work or which contains other information intended to remain non-public.  Even limiting sharing only to people who have a link  means your document is open to the public.  Although most people could not find it without a link, others might.  Make sure your documents are restricted to specific users or to members of the firm generally.

You may want to share a whole group of documents.  Drive allows you to create a folder, share that, and then put documents in the shared folder.  This is an easy way to share many files without having to create a special share for each file.

Great Way to Avoid Gmail Attachment Limits

Many of you get frustrated by the 20 MB limit on email attachments.  An easy way around this problem is to upload your files to Drive.  Share with the recipient, then send them an email with a link to your shared Drive folder.  The recipient will be able to access the files with a single click and download them.  Of course, it does require that they have a Google account.  But again, a free one works just fine.

Auto-Save

One other thing that took some time to get used to was the auto-save feature.  In a normal program, you work on a document and then save it.  In Drive, Google is constantly saving your work.  This is very convenient to avoid losing work.  But I used to open up a document, change it to another and then save using a different name.  I had to get out of that habit quickly.  Fortunately, if you do make changes to a document by mistake, it is very easy to revert the document to the way it was on a certain date or time in the past.

Working Offline

One reason many have expressed concern over using Drive is the fact that you must be connected to the Internet in order to use it.  Not true!  There is a Drive application available here that you can install on any Windows or Mac computer.  This will sync your Google Drive with your computer, making your files available to you offline.  As soon as you get back your Internet connection, the application with sync with your online account.  There are similar Apps available in the Play Store for your Android device or in the App Store for your iPhone or iPad.

Conclusion

Drive is a great way to collaborate on documents, share with those outside the firm, or have easy access to important to documents when outside the office.  If you are not using it already, you should consider what it can offer.