Many businesses use a variety of different programs to do simple things like collaborate on documents, share calendars, plan meetings, send and receive emails. All of these things are necessary for a successful business. But it is hard to find all of these tools and then integrate them together effectively. For example, documents must be typed and then emailed as attachments, and calendars must be created and shared, etc.
Google has centralized all of these tools for easy use and built-in integration. Google Apps is a simple solution that does all of this (and a little more for paying customers). Here are a few of the perks for choosing Google Apps over other business communication/collaboration solutions.
Google Apps for Business
- Does not require ongoing maintenance of desktop software.
- Seamless collaboration across geographical and linguistic barriers.
- Accessibility through a variety of mobile devices.
- Employees can do more from a mobile device than just send email.
- Instant updates on documents.
- All products are usable on PC, Mac, Linux and a variety of mobile devices.
Paid vs. Free
Google provides an unpaid version for all of its tools, but has options for businesses to pay for a few perks. These perks include 25 gigabytes of online space for email storage, 24/7 support for their paying customer, and Microsoft Outlook interoperability. Below is the list from the Google website detailing the differences between the paid and unpaid versions. Google offers two payment plans for paying customers—monthly and yearly subscriptions. It only costs $5 per user per month, but on the yearly plan businesses save $10 per user. Both options provide great tools and functionality, but for those businesses that want just a little more, the price is not unreasonable.
|
Google Apps |
Google Apps for Business |
|
| User maximumUser accounts allowed per organization |
10 |
Unlimited |
| Messaging appsGmail and Google Calendar | yes | yes |
| Collaboration appsGoogle Docs and Google Sites | yes | yes |
| More Google applicationsGoogle Reader, Blogger, Picasa Web Albums, AdWords and more | yes | yes |
| Business securitySSO, forced SSL, custom password strength requirements and more | yes | yes |
| Additional business appsGoogle Video for Business and Google Groups for Business | no | yes |
| Business features25GB email storage per user, BlackBerry and Microsoft Outlook interoperability and more | no | yes |
| Business support and reliability99.9% uptime guarantee SLA and 24/7 support | no | yes |
Here is a quick overview of a few of the tools available on Google Apps:
Google’s email application is easy to use and has features that allow it to integrate easily with other Google Apps and tools. Businesses can keep their domain names in their email addresses and use Gmail as a gateway to send and receive emails from their business accounts. As a paying customer, each user has 25 gigabytes of storage space for their email. This is very helpful for businesses that send and receive documents on a regular basis and need to store them for easy access.
Docs
Google Docs is a combination of a word processing spreadsheets, drawing and presentations. It potentially replaces Microsoft Office or other comparable products. Since Google Docs is an online program there is no operating system requirement for the product. It supports all of the formats used today namely .doc, .xls, .ppt, and .pdf. One of the greatest benefits of using Google Docs is all of the files are saved online allowing all users to have access to updated copies instantly anywhere. Also, multiple users can edit and work on a document at the same time and both users will receive updates on what the other is doing. This is a great tool for companies that produce documents that need to be sent to multiple employees or customers easily.
Calendar
The calendar tool is an effective way to manage multiple calendars and enables employees to work together efficiently. When a calendar is updated all users receive the update. When events are created such as a meeting all invited users are sent an RSVP through the internal system. All users can access their calendars from their mobile devices and even receive notifications via SMS. Calendars can also be embedded into websites for easy publication of business events.
Google Sites
Google sites is a tool that allows users to create secure websites for local use such as intranet and team projects. It can also be used to centralize documents, spreadsheets, presentations, videos, slideshows. The tool does not require training in HTML or coding to be used effectively.
Google Video for Businesses
Google Video for Businesses is a paid tool that allows businesses to upload videos onto a secure site without having to email them. Employees can then access the video streaming the content to their computers. This tool would free up a business’s IT staff from having to work out an on-site video solution.
There are many other tools that Google Apps provides to both free and paying customers. Both the paid plan and the free plan provide a simple solution to many of the routine tasks that many businesses have to do. Google also offers a free trial for these services so a company could try it out and determine for themselves if the tools are right for their business.