HENNGE One is great for cost, performance, and speed of implementation and support.
— How did you come to adopt Google Workspace?
We implemented Gmail as groupware along with Google Workspace as part of a merger project, and started using it when the new company was formed in 2009. However, in the case of the email system, the domain name was also changed to that of the new company, so it would be more correct to say that we introduced a new email system rather than integrating the two.
— Around 2009, there were still not many examples of Google Workspace being used by general companies in Japan.
When it came to migrating our email system, we had to prioritize “cost performance” and “speed of implementation. There were three options to consider: Google’s proposal, a proposal to continue using the on-premise servers used by the old company, and a proposal from another company that used a cloud-based ASP service similar to Google’s. Of the three, the on-premise proposal was the most cost-effective, and the cloud-based ASP service was the least expensive.
Of the three, the on-premise proposal was found to incur significant operational costs. In addition, we learned that the other company’s proposal for an ASP service would not be ready for release on April 1, when the new company was to be launched, and that the transition would be in two stages. We wanted the new company to function as a means of communication from its inception, and Google’s proposal was superior because of its low cost and quick implementation.
At the time, however, there was still a lack of experience with Google Workspace among Japanese companies, so there were no concerns about introducing Google Workspace. However, Google Workspace had advantages in terms of functionality, such as the ability to use large mailboxes (25 GB), as well as the ability to reduce the operational load, and we finally decided to implement it.
— So please tell us how you decided to implement HENNGE One.
Google Workspace has many advantages, but there were issues regarding security and mail archiving that could not be solved with the standard Google Workspace service alone. We introduced HENNGE One to solve these issues.
— What are some of the challenges you face in terms of security?
For example, the e-mail system we were using before the merger had a checking function that automatically added the recipient to the CC list when sending an e-mail to an external party. However, it was difficult to set up such a function in Google Workspace, and some of our employees with high literacy levels were asking for enhanced security.
— What specific points did you evaluate?
Of course, Google Workspace has excellent features such as “mail archiving,” “automatic encryption of attachments,” and “filtering,” which cannot be achieved with Google Workspace alone, but after experiencing a major disaster, we are now more inclined to use cloud services. However, after experiencing a major disaster, we are now more inclined to use cloud services, and the fact that it is a cloud-based service was also an important point. We are using a cloud-based service, but if the security and mail archiving systems are operated on-premise, the benefits would be reduced by half.
Also, since the mail archives are stored in a data center separate from Google Workspace, we thought it would be a great advantage to have better data integrity in the event of a disaster or trouble at the data center where Google Workspace is operated.
— Did you encounter any difficulties when introducing the system?
We had to decide on detailed configuration items, so we consulted with HENNGE on that point. We had HENNGE handle the actual setup work on our behalf, so there were no difficulties.
Also, once the settings are made, there are very few settings that need to be changed after operation. The only exception is the setting to send ZIP files without automatic encryption to those who cannot receive them (domains), and such setting changes can be completed within a few hours after requesting HENNGE, so there is almost no operational burden.