With the announcement last week that Google is adding file transfer to Google Talk, I had some thoughts.
1). Are there security challenges posed by the Google Talk news?
These challenges are similar to those we’ve seen with Windows Live, AIM, ICQ, Trillian, Skype and others, which all offer peer-to-peer mechanisms. But unlike these forums, Google – and Google Chat – deserve deeper scrutiny over the ubiquity and consumerization Google brings.
For example, it’s likely that Google Talk, and thus file transfer, will now be included within Google’s free productivity suite, Google Docs – which is frequently used as a means for flexible, faster business collaboration and file exchange
These security challenges aren’t necessarily new but Google’s business model of allowing deep integration between all of its services and technologies opens the door to higher risk, and the need for technologies to enforce policies – around privacy and data protection particularly – will grow.
2). Will Google Talk affect businesses?
Most companies are unlikely leveraging Google Talk for enterprise instant messaging and voice over IP requirements. However, anyone among the millions of those with Google e-mail accounts gains instant access to Google Talk and Google Docs.
This means that collaborating becomes easier because the mechanisms for collaboration are built into services and technologies in which users are already pre-provisioned. Large, mission-critical files will continue to use established manage file transfer technologies. Furthermore, those that have been generated by software or services associated with Google WILL start to flow through peer-to-peer connections – like Google Chat. It feeds into the common, yet very risky, behavior of people doing whatever is the easiest way to maintain productivity.
If I’m creating a spreadsheet in Google Docs and I need to share with accounting theoretically I would be able to do that with one click. But businesses need to take a deer look into how policies get enforced – and how transfers are audited and regulated.
Do you agree? Disagree? Let me know your take on the Google Talk news.
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About fkenney:
Frank Kenney is Vice President, Global Strategy and Product Management at Ipswitch, responsible for defining the company's vision and strategy and integrating his global perspective into the products, services and messaging. Frank brings an unmatched depth of experience and knowledge in the managed file transfer space to the team. Most recently, Frank was a Research Director at Gartner, Inc., responsible for analyzing topics including managed file transfer, application integration, SOA, and business process management. He initiated and drove the Magic Quadrants on managed file transfer and SOA governance technologies. Before joining Gartner, Frank was Director of Creative Services and Content Distribution at the Executive Business Group. Frank holds a degree in Music Technology from the Center for the Media Arts and has studied English and Computer Science at University of Tampa. When not working, Frank can be found living the life of a frustrated musician and producer in his home studio in Tampa.
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One Response to “Let’s Talk About Google Talk”
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If we're talking about businesses, Google Apps is the key thing to consider – not Google Docs. Apps is their business (ie paid) version of Docs, but is more sewn up and much more robust. Oh and yes, already includes GTalk. http://www.google.com/apps/intl/en/business/ind… .