Web Hosted Office Suites - Google Apps Suite
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Google Apps have been around since the end of 2006, and Google has expanded their services to meet the needs of small to large companies. Google Apps is not meant to replace Microsoft Office, but in many cases it does. Many companies are finding Google Apps to be much more cost-effective than Microsoft's Office software. Microsoft does not currently offer their Office software through a web hosted application, but this may change in the future. Google Apps is becoming an attractive incentive for web hosts to offer to their customers.
Google Apps consists of a variety of applications including: Gmail, Google Talk, Google Calendar, Google Docs, and Page Creator. Google offers three different editions of Google Apps including their Standard Edition, Premier Edition and Education Edition. Their Standard and Education Editions are completely free to use, and their Premier Edition currently costs $50 per person, per year. The Premier Edition offers 10 GB of email storage per account, no ads next to the email, and various APIs to integrate with an existing infrastructure. There is a host of other features as well, but you get the picture.
Some businesses are finding that a service such as Google Apps is a much more cost effective solution than having to install Microsoft Office into every computer in the office at a cost of a few hundred dollars per computer. One of the companies which have made the switch to Google Apps is Impelsys Inc, a global publishing company. The chief operating officer of Impelsys is Nizar Jamal, and he notes that "As a global company that specializes in the delivery of electronic content and publishing services, rapid and efficient communication within our company and with our customers is critical to us. Google Apps offers us the flexibility of communicating quickly and collaborating easily amongst our teams and with our customers -- regardless of location."
The software works well, and the price is certainly right. "In addition," Jamal continues, "Google Apps offers Impelsys a total cost of ownership that is very compelling compared to the cost of owning the software licenses, hardware and the support people involved in maintaining that software and hardware. For us, Google Apps is the right solution at the right price."
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