The American software giant Google has announced that it has begun delivering packages of essential tools from the domain of business software to subscribers in order to expand its product offerings aimed at business users.
Apps-Premier Edition costs $50 per year per employee account, which covers technical support services via phone, up to 10 gigabytes of data storage per user, and guarantees that email services will function almost seamlessly. The software was introduced to the market six months ago when it did not require a subscription. It now also offers a collection of web-based programs, including the Gmail email service, a shared calendar program, and the Google Talk instant messaging service.
The current Google Apps service currently has over 100,000 users among small companies, and hundreds of universities around the world are already using the free version of the service, without accompanying ads, Google executives highlighted. The company expects that by moving away from the traditional method of installing business software on computers, it will attract a large number of business users whose needs are not sufficiently met by companies like Microsoft, IBM, Oracle, and SAP. “Our goal is to increase the number of users to several million,” announces Google CEO Eric Schmidt. (H)
