Google has admitted VOGSY, a cloud and mobile based ERP solution for the professional service industry, into its G Suite Marketplace.
Launched in November last year, VOGSY is a mobile business app developed to meet the modern demands of mid-sized professional services organisations (PSOs). The ERP solution, based entirely on Google’s ecosystem of cloud-based products and services, helps mid-sized PSOs with managing the Quote-to-Cash process, end-to-end, spanning among others sales, account management, resourcing and financing.
Yesterday, Google, during the Google Cloud NEXT 2017 Conference in San Francisco, unveiled that it has added VOGSY to its G Suite Marketplace – the firm’s app store that contains certified and trusted applications for businesses globally. G Suite Marketplace offers a wide range of quality enterprise apps that add functionality and features to native Google Cloud apps, such as Drive, Gmail, Google Docs, Slides and Sheets.
Leo Koster, co-founder and CEO of VOGSY, says he is delighted with the recognition – admission to the G Suite Marketplace is subject to a set of stringent quality criteria; apps need to comply with Google’s high technical standards regarding design, authentication and integration with G Suite. The move also marks a milestone for VOGSY – after a successful pilot and controlled roll-out phase, the app is now out in the open and can be downloaded and used by PSO’s across the globe. “By our listing on G Suite Marketplace, our application has the potential to reach professional services businesses worldwide using G Suite. Now there is a business app available to them that is spot-on for their needs.”
Koster remarks that VOGSY provides the industry with a host of benefits, ranging from a modern and seamless user experience (“social media and mobile based”) to a much more cost effective solution as opposed to existing ERP solutions in the market. VOGSY is priced at €17 per license (user) per month – which is significantly below the average fee charged by the incumbents in the sector. In addition, by embracing Google’s public cloud, advisory firms can, according to VOGSY’s developers, enjoy the benefits of added flexibility, whilst reducing their IT complexity and Total Costs of Ownership (TCO) within their wider technology landscape.
“The comprehensive Intelligent ERP app leverages the user experiences of social media for professionals to deliver successful services to their customers. Handovers between professionals, account managers, project managers, management and back-office become smooth and transparent. Thereby saving time and money, paving the way for investments in sustainable growth”, reflects Koster.
Google’s push into professional services
André Hoekzema, head of Google Cloud Benelux, says on behalf of the search engine giant that the company is impressed by what VOGSY has accomplished “in just 18 months”, adding, “the creation of VOGSY is a fine example of the capabilities that the Google platform has to offer for rapid application development.”
Hoekzema further states that Google has earmarked the advisory and consulting industry – a space in which Google still is a minor player; dominated by generalists such as Microsoft and global specialists such as Deltek – as an important pillar for growth in the coming years. “The international professional services industry is important to Google because that sector has a strong appetite for innovation.” The flexibility of the solution also provides Google Business Partners an easier and more flexible avenue to expanding into the professional services industry as they now “can offer a mature ERP solution that is focussed on the needs of professionals and consultancies”.
Among the firms already using VOGSY are Quint Wellington Redwood, a management consulting and IT consulting services provider (adopted in October 2016), Moyee Coffee, an internet based coffee retailer (a pilot customer), and several boutique consulting firms. VOGSY focuses on companies with a footprint in the range of between 50 FTE's and roughly 5,000 FTE's.