FirstClass vs Google/GMail


First, let me say i love the Google. But it does not compete with FirstClass as a option of a good communication suite of tools. Not when you look at the long list of features and solutions, or the true cost. What Google does have is a lot of great marketing and truly a huge up-swell of tech excitement. It reminds me of that old marketing saying, "Sell the sizzle, not the steak".

Schools that are happy with conversions to Google are those who have never used more than the simplest mail features in FirstClass. I would love to talk to your school, and show you what you may be missing. I bet the new OTSW feature for student use will be enough to make you take a second look at what you're missing in FirstClass. Most schools are looking at the couple killer features they get with Google with out looking at what they would be giving up with FirstClass if they really used it. Also - I have seen some decision makers not fully looking at how their organization uses FC. Blindly they only see the couple killer features of Google and decide to move without going over the effect of all staff when letting FC go when they downgrade to GMAil.

I have had a lot of meetings with other schools that are looking into Google. In these meetings we go over the pros and cons of FC vs GMail. We also go over the true costs of Google as 'free' vs FirstClass. Most importantly, we go over all of the hidden features and solutions that are not obvious and may not be running on their server. Most of the schools that I have talked to really appreciated knowing all the aspects of FristClass before they made their decision. Let me know if you are interested in a meeting to make sure your administration knows all the facts. We can schedule a meeting in the next month with ease. There would be no cost.

One thing that lands pretty hard is the 'free' aspect. Which it is not. Gmail is, but there is a lot of add-on cost and then there is the other non-monetary 'cost'.  Looking at Archiving the cost is over 8$ a user per year. But that is the cost per address. As staff moves from your district, your still paying for that address to be archived. I have also been told you can not change names, so if someone gets married, you give them another account which is another archive account for that year.

You own FirstClass, let me show you what you're missing beofre you make the decision to move away - It really is amazing, and I bet you're missing a lot of what it can really do for you.





Some aspects you will be giving up with FirstClass:
  • Loss of customizable and flexible mailbox. Mailbox standard type, mail rules & workflow, user defined look and feel.
  • Loss of basic mail features
  • Unsend, History, Receipt on Read, Shared Contact lists, Message Preview, Search, Summarize Selected, Mailbox Folders, Mailbox workflow, and more…
  • Loss of Conferences - Conferences are very useful, and what they can do is vast. From workflow app rules, to an area for staff community and fully customizable for custom solution building. There is NO replacement for conferences at any level. Principals have been very upset after a Google migration when finding this out. (if your not sure what all this is, you need a demo. your missing ver powerful solutions and features)
  • Loss of user designed Stationary Forms (system wide and personal electronic forms)
  • Loss of soluions like: RWD, FCAS, Mass Mailer, fcGroupMailer, fcListServer, etc...
  • Fully customized server you can brand as you like - you can also change aspects like windows toolbars, icon location, and split-screens. (This aspect is important as key staff will use FC in different ways from each other. Their workflow and environment should mold to what they need vs another staff member.
  • User can not back up on Gmail without purchasing an add-on.
  • Full range of basic and advanced features of FirstClass is by far larger than those of Gmail.
Some aspects you may not be using on FirstClass:
  • FirstClass can host your Website. Using custom web-templates, the site and all staff pages will have the same look and feel (We can use the templates now on your site). If you have not seen a demo of the web options yet, don't miss out on this.
  • Electronic Forms - turn your paper forms into electronic ones - all controlled within FirstClass. Add in conferencing and workflow for some amazing solutions.
  • Adding a database (search or control)
  • FCAS - Full Application Server add-ons (some free, some have a cost)
  • OTSW - Facebook/Twitter web style social media communications for staff, student, and parent use. 
  • FirstClass documents
  • File Document Sharing
  • Advanced Scheduling/Calendaring - beyond what Google is offering.
  • Archiving Server (additional cost way lower than Google cost)
You own FirstClass - you're now invested.  The on-going cost is less than some of Google's add-ons. FirstClass also unlimited data and fully controled by your district. (including all your data is control by you and only you)

Free is not Free (Google costs):
  • New Education Marketplace
  • Additional capability: Additional cost
  • Each Google add-on has own strategy
  • Each Google add-on has own strategy
  • Postini: Security & Archiving
  • Data Migration Cost
  • Staff Training Cost (Gmail tweaks UI often)
  • Future Data Retention Cost
  • Google does change their mind often. Their free services change and/or are dropped all the time
Aspects hard to list as features? (These are “indirect” costs and loss)"
"What is the real cost?"
  • Lost Productivity (FirstClass has many productivity tools and aspects to features, Google does not)
  • Reduced Effectiveness
  • Decreased Student Engagement
  • Decreased Staff Engagement
  • Weaker Sense of Community
  • Policies & Procedures?
  • Privacy and Discovery Procudure not controlled by district
  • Rights & Use of Data? (very important to some districts and organizations)
  • Network traffic 'Doubled' and Internet Bandwidth trippled
  • Training Time and Support
  • Culture Changes
  • Security Risks - Google is a target for hackers and other nefarious activities.
  • Changes - Google controlled:
  • Policy Changes (Google policies trump your policies)
  • New Product Introductions
  • Software Updates and changes
Customer Feedback (FirstClass to Google):
  • Loss of Collaboration
  • One of the most important aspects of FristClass, Google offers no alternative to the FirstClass Conferencing feature and the endless soltuions it provides. Conferencing at its basic level is there to exchange information among groups of users. Google does provided shared authoring of documents, but it lacks in true collaboration and the sharing of ideas, resources & processes.
  • Loss of Community
  • Any online community results from a combination of collaboration and shared identity. FirstClass provides a walled garden for a unique presence that creates a sense of identity. Google cannot offer this experience and does not offer the tools as FirstClass does to do so.
  • Loss of basic mail features (some examples listed above)
  • Cumbersome Administration
  • Account administration was not designed for education sites, with large numbers of users. Account lists, for example, provide views of just 30 accounts at once. Can not change basic user account info, like name changes.
  • Limited Oversight
  • Limited Support / Poor Support
  • Support is limited to reporting outages only; support may not be used to report poor performance or interface problems, or to ask about changes, feature use, or other questions.
  • More on-going Training needed than planned
  • Loss of calendaring features of FirstClass
  • "Google Doc" fatigue vs normal conference sharing
  • Mailbox overload
  • Spam!
Google Docs - amazing real time feature to have multiple users typing on the same doc all at once. This is cool - but it's not part of Gmail. FirstClass is a full communiation tool. The Google app that it competes with is Gmail. Google Docs is a word processor and can be used along side FirstClass. No need to dump FirstClass if all you really want is Google Docs.

The last thing I always like to say: Whenever you are looking at anything listed as 'free', beware. Know their business model. Why is it free, and where are they going? Where are they making their money? Unlike FirstClass, Google is not focused on making a great communication product as their business model.

I have suggested to all my schools to 'let this great Google experiment happen before you decide.' There are a lot of changes and growth going on right now; give it a couple years and see where Google lands on communication.

If you have any questions or need anything please let me know - I would love to schedule a meeting with your key staff, and make sure you know all that you're missing in FC. I'm here to help you make an informed desicion.

Rob Rickard
Common World inc.
v 608-807-1324
f  608-807-1325
CW@commonworldinc.com

Last updated Tue, Jun 28, 2011 4:30 PM