Google Links Google Apps To Corporate Data
The Secure Data Connector was one of several enhancements to the Google App Engine that Google unveiled late Tuesday at its Google Campfire One event. The online search company debuted a database import tool that makes it easier to move gigabytes of data into the App Engine and promised to add export functionality within a month.
By strengthening links between its applications and corporate systems, Google improves its position as an alternative to traditional desktop productivity software such as Microsoft Office.
Google also provided an early look at Java language support it's developing for the Google App Engine, including Java runtime technology, as part of the Google Web Toolkit 1.6. The company also has built a Google Plugin for the Eclipse development framework.
The Secure Data Connector lets developers build Google Gadgets or Google App Engine applications that let users of Google Apps such as Google Spreadsheets tap into data that resides in corporate databases and on-premise or on-demand applications. The Secure Data Center also offers a way for businesses to centrally manage those linkages, placing restrictions on which users and applications can access data from internal sources.
The significance of the Secure Data Connector was evident in the wave of software vendors that quickly pledged support for the technology.
Oracle, for example, said its Siebel CRM software could interact with Google Apps through the Secure Data Connector. Oracle also unveiled Oracle Gadget Wizard for Google Apps for building Oracle gadgets that work with Google Sites, Google's tools for building Web pages and wikis.
Cast Iron Systems unveiled a relationship with Google under which Secure Data Connector is integrated with Cast Iron's software for integrating on-premise and software-as-a-service applications. The result of that collaboration, Cast Iron for Google Apps, provides connectors for exchanging encrypted data between enterprise applications and Google's applications.
PivotLink, a supplier of software-as-a-service business intelligence tools, unveiled PivotLink Gadget, which uses the new development capabilities in the Google App Engine to add business intelligence features to Google Apps. A developer, for example, can configure custom business intelligence dashboards to work within Google pages.