"Google Gmail Emerges as a Significant Threat to Microsoft in the Enterprise" is the title and the conclusion of a recent Gartner report  on the topic as it has become a reliable alternative to Microsoft in the Enterprise Email Market.

After 5 years, Google’s enterprise Gmail has gained cloud with clients who are commercial organizations of 5,000 employees.  Gmail presents a viable alternative to Microsoft Exchange Online and other cloud email services:

"The road to its enterprise enlightenment has been long and bumpy, but Gmail should now be considered a mainstream cloud email supplier. While Gmail’s enterprise email market share currently hovers around 1 percent, it has close to half of the market for enterprise cloud email. While cloud email is still in its infancy, at 3 percent to 4 percent of the overall enterprise email market, we expect it to be a growth industry, reaching 20 percent of the market by year-end 2016, and 55 percent by year-end 2020." says Matthew Cain, Research VP at Gartner.

 
Google Gmail is the only email system that, besides Microsoft Exchange, has prospered in the enterprise space over the past several years. Meanwhile, other enterprise email providers including Novell GroupWise and IBM Lotus Notes/Domino haven’t managed to gain the same level of interest, while Cisco discontinued its pursuit of cloud email. VMware’s Zimbra is only now refocusing on the enterprise space.

Meanwhile, Google’s services are not 100% focused on the enterprise segment. Instead, the web giant pursues features that will have the broadest market uptake. Large organizations with complex email requirements, such as financial institutions, report that Google is resistant to feature requests that would be applicable to only a small segment of its customers. Banks, for example, may require surveillance capabilities that Google is unlikely to build into Gmail given the limited appeal.

While Google is good at taking direction and input on front-end features, it is more resistant to the back-end feature requests that are important to larger enterprises. Large system integrators and enterprises report that Google’s lack of transparency in areas such as continuity, security and compliance can thwart deeper relationships.

"Email is not a commodity, and cloud email is still maturing," Mr. Cain said. "We believe that, for most organizations, performing one more on-premises upgrade, which will take an organization through 2014, is the most prudent approach. A less-risky approach to cloud email is via a hybrid deployment, where some mailboxes live in the cloud and some are located on premises. This hybrid model plays to Microsoft’s strengths given its vast dominance of the on-premises email market."

"The intense competition between Microsoft and Google will make both vendors stronger and enable them to apply cloud expertise to other enterprise cloud endeavors," Mr. Cain said. "The rivalry will make it difficult for other suppliers to compete directly in the cloud email and collaboration space."