Google Apps is a service from Google which provides different types of Google products to users with a custom domain name. It provides many type of web applications like Gmail, Google Docs, Google sites, Google calendar, etc.
Mostly users think that they will be allowed to use these services only if they have a gmail / google account, but this is not so. Users who are using Google Apps can also use these standard features and for free. Yes, its free.
Google Apps is free and offers the same amount of storage as regular Gmail accounts. Google Apps for Business offers more storage space to user for a monthly or annual fee per user account.
Google Apps users can use these applications for free:
- Gmail, Google Talk, and Google Calendar
- Google Docs, Google Sites, and more
- Google Reader, Blogger, Picasa Web Albums, AdWords and more
This means you can have a custom email address and use these services, and not just @gmail.com address. Say bye bye to the traditional gmail address and use custom email address of your domain. E.g. suppose you own example.com domain, thus you can create bruce@example.com. See this new email address, it looks more professional and can even represent your website or business.
Below is a comparison of all editions of Google Apps
Google Apps:
- Free
- Storage equal to regular gmail users
- 10 users (or Email addresses) can be made by the admin
- Email attachments cannot be more than 25 MB
- Send Emails to 500 recipients per day per email account
Google Apps for Business:
Businesses can get the added controls and features that companies need at $5 per user per month.
All the standard features offered by Google Apps plus:
- Google Video for Business and Google Groups for Business
- 25GB email storage per user
- Mobile email, calendar and IM access
- Business security SSO, forced SSL, custom password strength requirements and more
- Business support and reliability 99.9% uptime guarantee SLA and 24×7 support
Google Apps for Education:
Schools and colleges can also get many of the capabilities offered to businesses, but at no charge.
All the features of Google Apps for Business are offered to Google Apps for Education users. As per their site, more than twelve million students and teachers use Google Apps.
Want detailed comparison ? Check out more details and compare all editions of Google Apps.
Why Use Google Apps
Well, there are many reasons. The two most important points is that a user can have a custom email address with Google Apps and also user can use many of other Google’s services/apps like Google talk, Google Calendar, Blogger, Picasa, etc with his/her custom email address.
You can also try out the free – Google Apps edition, and see what it has in store for you. 10 user accounts can be created for free, so if you are a small organization, or a website owner with a small number of email accounts, then try out this free edition. There’s no harm in trying out this free edition. Later on you can move to business edition.
Go ahead, and get started with Google Apps for free. Configuring it is very easy and you can get started in minutes.
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