Setting domain wide signatures for google mail

Using Google Apps Script and Google docs

While Google mail’s compliance footers are great for legal compliance, Google currently don’t offer an easy way to set signatures for all your users that are based on user specific variables. I had a quick look at the existing offerings but I also noticed that due to the openness of Google’s APIs it's easy to pull data from a Google spreadsheet and push out the signatures to users across a domain. Giving us:

• Centrally managed user data in a simple spreadsheet 
• A legal compliance footer enforced on all outbound emails 
• A quickly customisable signature with contact details that can be edited/updated by users (no more waiting for IT to update your contact details) 

As Google Apps Script doesn't connect to the Google email settings API directly, this also makes use of Google Apps Script's support of oauth to securely authenticate from Google Apps Script to the Google email settings API. This post includes setup instructions and an overview of how it works, if you just want the code feel free to skip to the end...

Microsoft Office I Want A Divorce, Google Apps Is My New Love

Dear ‘Paperclip’,

Firstly, yes, it appears that I am writing a letter, and secondly no, I don’t need any assistance. But thanks for asking. Again.

This is going to be difficult, we’ve been together so long. We’ve created so much. Achieved great things but I’ve met someone else. Someone refreshingly easy to get on with. Someone I find it easier to share with. Someone that allows me to look back at all those changes I’ve gone through without me having to open up every one that didn’t work out. Everything’s so clear and I know exactly where I am. No more raking over old ground looking for an answer. And you change so much, year on year and when we go over things in the past, try and work on things, the newer you just won’t accept it.

We can do all the things that we used to do but easier and from anywhere. I’m not tied to one place anymore. I’m free to share things with other people. And most importantly I no longer have a massive drain on my finances.

My new love is so free, allows me to travel - enjoying being where I am anywhere. You’ve got so much baggage in the cupboard I keep having to come back to check it’s all working.

You’ve made some effort to try and catch up with where I’m going, what I need but it’s just not good enough.

So I’ve moved on. You know how suspicious I am of change but this change has been so easy, we already work so well together.

On this occasion it’s definitely not me - it’s you.

Keep trying ‘Paperclip’, but as for you and me, it’s over.

xx

Cloud Computing - The New Rock and Roll

So a new year has begun and its out with the old and in with the new. Well for the most part. It was during my post-Christmas clean-up yesterday that I found myself furtively slipping X-Factor’s latest offering into the lonely depths of my bottom CD drawer. Another act, another fad. Yet, they are called today’s Rockstars. Surely, such a term should be saved for the Bowies and REMs of this world, demonstrating resilience and evolution through the years, sticking it out when the going was tough and long before the recognition, hype and groupies set it? Well at least there is a rightful new chart-topper in the world of Business Intelligence and whats more, this one is here to stay. 

A recent study by Cisco IBSG(1), estimated that 12% of enterprise workload will run in the cloud by 2013 and that the cost-savings from using cloud services will benefit the UK economy alone to the tune of 30 Billion Euros (2) over the next five years. Yet, there was no Simon Cowell back in the 60’s when the earliest hint of utility computing fell on the deaf ears of a technologically primitive world. Only in the 90’s amidst the clang of Blur and Oasis was it that a major record label of the IT world, Amazon, signed up to the idea and put cloud computing to the wider audience with the launch of Amazon Web Services (AWS) in 2002. The rest is history and roll on five years to find even Google and IBM amongst the fans in the front row with their offerings of Google Apps(3) and IBM Smart Business Development and Test(4). 

The fact is, cloud computing has been around for a while and only now with years of sound iterative development and millions of trusted users, has the Hype finally set in. With the immediate forecast being a year-on-year growth rate of 43% (5), cloud computing’s fan-base is set to increase relentlessly. And boy is it going to be some show.

(1)
http://www.cisco.com/web/about/ac79/docs/wp/sp/Service_Providers_as_Cloud_Providers_IBSG.pdf

(2)
http://www.pcr-online.biz/news/35321/Cloud-to-benefit-UK-economy-by-30-billion-Euros

(3)
http://www.google.com/apps/intl/en/business/index.html

(4)
http://www-935.ibm.com/services/us/igs/cloud-development/

(5)
http://www.newinnovationsguide.com/Cloud.html


Fabien Flight
Senior Engineer - Cloudreach

Building Your Cloud Model

More Information on costs for the different types of Cloud model
There are different types of Cloud services - SAAS (Software as a Service), PAAS (Platform as a Service), IAAS (Infrastructure as a Service). Each one has unique attributes when is comes to looking at costs, I've jotted down a few thoughts for each and I've included some costs from one of the market leaders in each area.

IAAS (Infrastructure as a Service)
Capital expenditure on an Infrastructure project is much cheaper in the Public Cloud both in terms of physical equipment, power / cooling, server licensing, hypervisor set-up and config etc. It is not unheard of to make 80% savings in comparison to setting up new servers and infrastructure on premise. There also big on going revenue savings from the time saved not managing the physical and virtual layer in your data centre. To give you an idea of how much it would cost to run a small Windows server instance in Amazon Web Services infrastructure 24/7 for year would cost approx £450 per annum. There are even cheaper instances you can run for low impact servers called micro instances - you can run one of these for as little as £120 per annum and that includes the server O/S cost, although you need to provide the CALs. Storage is very cheap too.
Good reading Amazon Pricing

Note: You may have heard people talking about "Private Clouds" - as the name suggests these are private to your company, but you'll not see the costs savings with this model. Your company needs to buy and pay for all the hardware and software inc set-up. In fact this will probably be even more expensive than traditional IT.

PaaS (Platform as a Service)
Again you'll have no upfront costs with a provide such as Force.com (as offering from Salesforce.com). Their Force.com platform allows you to create your own be-spoke applications on their platform. It's a very powerful tool and a very quick way of getting applications out there and onto the web for little upfront costs. I've included a link below for the Force.com platform editions and costs - it's extremely cost effective.
Salesforce.com/platform/platform-edition/
Another platform which is also gaining popularity is Google's App Engine for Business. The costs for it can be seen here

In both instances you pay per user per year. There are no license costs, no hardware - just your development time on the platform.

SaaS (Software as a Service)
As with the other two models there are no upfront costs when looking at SaaS offerings, you pay on a subscription tariff paying per user. This gives you big savings over the traditional model.
Email / Docs - Google Apps @ £35 per person per annum
CRM - Salesforce @various

How do Cloud Computing costs add up? Is it more complex to implement a Cloud solutions rather than 'Traditional' ones?

I was recently asked these two questions by a potential customer and thought I'd share some thoughts with you all as this is rather large topic.

How do Cloud Computing costs add up?

The biggest cost driver of moving to the Public (Multi Tenanted) Cloud is the avoidance of Capex investment day one or indeed in the longer-term when you need to refresh and upgrade. You only pay for what you consume and you have no tie ins, so when you finish with something you simply switch it off and stop paying. The TCO (Total Cost of Ownership) of an application or server or storage is very compelling indeed in the cloud - it's like consuming IT as a utility - flick the switch on and off as your business needs it. It stretches your budgets further and enables IT to deliver much more for less - you can focus your team on important projects which deliver competitive advantage to your organisation rather than managing standard business applications / systems which don't differentiate you from your competition.

Is it more complex to implement a Cloud solutions rather than 'traditional' ones?

To answer the second point, the implementation of Cloud technology is now well established and proven. The key points here are to use a specialist third party to help you and guide you in the implementation (it will save you a great deal of time and give you confidence and support) plus take advantage of the 'API' (Application Programming Interface) driven architecture - what I mean by this is the inter-operability and ease of migration which this gives you. Most Cloud offerings come with an API, which enables tools and functionality to move your data in and out with ease and link / integrate them together. In many cases moving to a Cloud offering is much easier than upgrading your applications / infrastructure in your traditional infrastructure. Here is an overview of some API technology Wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloud_APIs

If you have specific requirements or just want to talk about the Cloud, give me a shout and I'd be happy to talk it through. It's a big topic! And after hearing this, I'm happy to say we welcomed yet another forward thinking customer into The Cloud.

Tom Ray
Head of Operations
Cloudreach
Email: tom.ray@cloudreach.co.uk
Twitter: @cloudreach