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Fraser & Neave (F&N) became the latest large enterprise to hop onto the cloud computing wave when it announced plans to move 3,000 employees in Singapore to Google Apps.
The move follows an earlier effort by the producer of Tiger Beer and energy drink 100 Plus to move 2,000 employees in its Malaysian subsidiary F&N Holdings Berhad to Google Apps last year.
In a media statement, Google said F&N had sought a secure, accessible cloud-based email solution that could scale for new devices and keep up with their fast-moving, far-ranging employees.
F&N was using Lotus Notes as its e-mail system, which could not be accessed by employees who were on the move, according to Leong Yin Hoe, manager of manufacturing systems at F&N Holdings Bhd.
The switch to Google Apps will help F&N stay competitive, react quickly to market demands and provide mobile sales and marketing reps with instant access to information. Collaboration tools such as Google Talk, Google Sites and Google Docs will allow F&N employees to communicate and share ideas more easily, Google said.
Roger Tan, F&N’s head of corporate IT, said: “We’re excited to expand on the Google Apps deployment and are confident of a smooth migration to the cloud for the rest of the organisation. With Google Apps, we make available a powerful and innovative tool that enables collaboration in new ways, changing the way we do businesses internally and with our external stakeholders.”
F&N was founded in 1883 as The Singapore Straits Aerated Water Company but is now a highly diversified business across multiple countries and industries including food and beverage, publishing and printing, as well as property.
In 2009, Google scored a major win with the Ministry of Education (MOE), which awarded a two-year tender to deploy Google Apps across 350 schools with over 3,500 users including teachers and MOE staff.
Update (Apr 16, 12:44 SGT): Google and F&N have clarified that the video below describes the reasons behind the move to Google Apps by F&N Holdings Bhd in 2011.
