Google Apps
Google Apps is a service from Google providing independently customizable versions of several Google products under a custom domain name. It features several Web applications with similar functionality to traditional office suites, including Gmail, Google Groups, Google Calendar, Talk, Docs and Sites. It was the vision of Rajen Seth, a Google employee who later developed Chromebooks.[1]
Google Apps is free and offers the same amount of storage as regular Gmail accounts.[2] Google Apps for Business, which offers additional e-mail storage, is available for an annual fee per user account. Google Apps for Education, which is free, combines features from the Standard and Premier editions.
In addition to shared apps (calendar, docs, etc.), there is Google Apps Marketplace, which is an App "store" for Google Apps users. It contains various apps, both free and for a fee, which can be installed to customize the Google Apps experience for the user.[3]
History
- February 2006 - Google created Gmail For Your Domain with an invitation-only beta, which allowed Gmail to be used with a custom domain name. It featured 2 GB of e-mail storage, and many of the standard Gmail features.
- August 2006 - Google expanded on this service and developed Google Apps For Your Domain, incorporating more recent Google services, including Google Calendar, Google Talk, and Google Page Creator. Later, Google added a "Start Page" to all accounts, which is based on their iGoogle service.
- October 2006 - Google allowed educational institutions to sign up for the service, which was retitled Google Apps For Education. A large implementation of Google Apps is at Lakehead University in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada, where 38,000 users have Gmail and in-browser IM capabilities.[4]
- February 22, 2007 - Google launched a Premier Edition for enterprise, as well as making registration public for all Google Apps services. At the same time, all products were unified, and the online control panel was redesigned.
- June 2007 - Email migration from IMAP email services was added to Google Apps.[5]
- October 3, 2007 - Google announced that "security, compliance, policy management, and message recovery services" from recently-acquired Postini will be integrated into Google Apps Premier Edition.[6][7]
- October 12, 2007 - Google announced that e-mail storage for domains using Google Apps would be increasing. Premier Edition accounts now have 25 GB of space each (previously 10 GB). Standard and Education Edition accounts will mirror the Gmail counter (previously 2 GB, over 7 GB as of August 2008).[2]
- February 28, 2008 - Google announced that Google Sites will be available to domains hosted by Google Apps. Google Sites allows collaborative editing of web sites and permits users to upload images and videos to their site.[8]
- September 2008 - Google Page Creator and file uploader was removed as an available service for new Google Apps applicants.
- December 1, 2008 - Google removed the Start Page option for new Google Apps accounts. They are apparently trying to transition new users to using sites instead.
- January 14, 2009 - Google removed the ability to add additional users to Standard Edition domains and limited new standard edition domains to 50 users (a reduction from the previous 100).
- January 29, 2009 - Google added Google Apps to the Google Labs suite. This allows users to add gadgets to their inbox such as 'Offline', 'Tasks', and 'Vacation Time!'.[9]
- April 1, 2009 - Google added theme support to the mail interface.[10][11]
- June 9, 2009 - Google introduced Google Apps Sync for Microsoft Outlook, enabling companies running Microsoft Exchange Server to migrate their email boxes from Exchange to Google Apps.[12][13]
- July 7, 2009 - Google upgraded all of the services under Google Apps from 'Beta' status.[14]
- September 15, 2009 - Google announced that it will provide GovCloud, which will host Google Apps in a separate data environment with enhanced encryption for meeting state and government security standards.[15]
- March 9, 2010 - Google opened the Google Apps Marketplace, a venue for third-party, cloud-based applications to supplement Google's own online applications.[16]
- May 24, 2010 - Google announced that Google Wave will be available to domains hosted by Google Apps in next generation (only US English). Google Wave was a live, shared space on the web where people could discuss and work together using richly formatted text, photos, videos, maps, and more.[17]
- August 3, 2010 - Google Senior Vice President Urs Hölzle announced that Google will cease development of Google Wave.[18]
- Mid–end of 2010 - Google started rejecting registration of dot tk domains for Google Apps (Google Apps Standard Edition at that time), but it did not affect Google Apps for Business (Google Apps Premiere Edition at the time) and Google Apps for Education (Google Apps Education Edition at the time). All Google Apps accounts using dot tk domains registered before March 2010 became disabled. When affected users try to use Google Apps, they get the following message: "This account has been disabled."
- May 10, 2011 - The number of free accounts for Google Apps (formerly Google Apps Standard Edition) drops from 50 to 10.[19]
Different editions
Google Apps is available in a number of distinct editions. Each edition has a limit on the number of users that may be active at any given time.[20] Google Apps launched with a default user allotment of 200 users, which was shortly changed to 100 users. In addition, users could request to have their user limit increased through a manual process taking (at least) 1–2 weeks for approval. In January 2009, the cap was changed so that all new accounts would receive only 50 users as opposed to 100, and could not request more without payment.[21] This was confirmed as relating to the launch of the Google Apps commercial reseller program. Existing Standard Edition users before January 2009 kept their old allocation, in addition to the ability their "request" more users, though these limit requests are now commonly answered with suggestions to "upgrade your subscription".[22] In 2011, the limit on the free Google Apps product was further reduced to 10 users, effective for new users.
The subscription level of a Google Apps edition is billed based on the total number of available users in the Apps account, and the edition features apply to all users accounts in that subscription. It is not possible to purchase upgrades for a subset of users: to increase the user limit, subscriptions must be purchased for all accounts. For example, an upgrade from a "Standard" limit of 50 users to allow up to 60 users would involve paying for 60 users, whether they are used or not. [23]
- Google Apps (formerly Google Apps Standard Edition)[24]
- Free
- Brandable name and logos in the control panel, ie. @yourdomain.com
- Same storage space as regular gmail.com accounts (over 7,650 MB as of 2011)
- Text ads standard (can be turned off in each account)
- Limited to 10 users within same domain.
- Email attachments cannot be larger than 25 megabytes.
- Limited to sending email to 500 external recipients per day per email account.[25]
- Google Apps Partner Edition / Google Apps for ISPs[26]
- Same as standard edition with the following exceptions:
- No limit on number of mailboxes
- Google API is available to use to manage and provision accounts
- Paid service with tech support available with pricing starting at $0.35 per mailbox per resellers such as http://www.ikano.com.
- Google Apps for Business (formerly Google Apps Premiere Edition)
- US$50[27] (40 EUR[28], 33 GBP[29]) per account per year, or US$5 per account monthly
- Text ads optional
- Integrated Postini policy-based messaging security
- Conference room/resource scheduling
- 99.9% e-mail uptime guarantee
- APIs available for Single Sign On
- 24/7 phone support
- Google Video, a service similar to YouTube with private groups
- Limited to sending email to 2000 external recipients per day per email account.[25]
- Storage space 25 GB in each account, allocated for use across all products including e-mail.
- Google Apps for Education (formerly Google Apps Education Edition)
- Same as Google Apps for Business except for the following:
- Free for K-12 schools, colleges, and universities with up to 30,000 users
- No ads for faculty, staff, or students
- Google may serve ads to accounts not associated with enrolled students, staff or volunteers [30]
- Storage space 25 GB as of June 24, 2011 [31]
- Google Apps for Non-profits (formerly Google Apps Education Edition)
- Same as Google Apps for Business except for the following:
- Free for accredited 501(c)(3) non-profit entities with less than 3,000 users
- Large non-profits eligible for 40% discount on Google Apps for Business
- No ads for faculty, staff, or students
- Google may serve ads to accounts not associated with staff or volunteers [32]
- Storage space 25 GB as of June 24, 2011 [33]
- Other editions
- The terms Google for your Domain/Google Apps for your Domain still surface from time to time, without clear indication if this is a deprecated (or better said, separate) version of Google Apps.
- Google Apps Team Edition seem to have been a way for using Google Apps without attaching a domain to it and seems to be deprecated.
- Google Apps for Non Profit is not as much an edition as a marketing category. NGO with less than 3000 users are eligible to Google Apps Education Edition, whilst those with more than this may apply to Google Apps Premiere Edition at a discounted price.
- Services by type of account
|
Requires Google Account |
Gmail address |
Google Apps |
| Free[34] |
Higher[35] |
| Gmail |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes (Requires domain name) |
| Google Apps Sync |
Yes |
Yes (using Microsoft Exchange) |
No |
Yes |
| Google Calendar |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Google Contacts |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes (Listed as in beta) |
| Google Contacts Sync |
Yes |
Yes (using Microsoft Exchange) |
Yes |
| Google Docs |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Google Groups |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes[36] |
| Google Sites |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Google Tasks |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
| Google Video[37] |
No |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
| Google Voice |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
| Google Wave |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
| Google Analytics |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
| Google Plus |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes as of 10/27/11 |
Critiques
Analyst firm The Real Story Group cited several weaknesses in Google Apps in a comparative review which referenced a lack of administrative, customization, and lifecycle services that might hamper effectiveness in large enterprise environments.[38]
Data security issues and national interests mean that online application platforms can be unsuitable for use by governments or commercial organisations. Especially so for non-US organisations sharing, editing and storing sensitive or confidential data.
- On March 10, 2009, Google reported that a bug in Google Docs had allowed unintended access to some private documents. It was believed that 0.05% of documents stored via the service were affected by the bug, which Google claimed has been fixed.[39]
- In the UK, it is not possible to obtain information relating to Google and RIPA requests [40] but we know that MI5 and MI6 make frequent use of their information because of quotes like, "but I can say that the intelligence agencies, police forces and other law enforcement agencies are the principal users of communications data" [41] in the annual RIPA reports.
Adoption
It is not known how many people use the Google Apps platform, although a Google blog post in March 2010 claimed that 25 million people had "switched to Google Apps." [42]
Google is making a concerted effort to increase usage, particularly in the public sector. The most recent example was the announcement in June, 2011 by the NOAA that 25,000 government employees would be migrated to Google Apps by years end. [43] In 2009, Los Angeles, California awarded Google a five-year contract to provide Google Apps services to 34,000 employees.[44] As of early 2011, the City of LA was still in the process of deploying Google Apps after objections from LAPD officials surfaced about privacy. [45] In early 2010, the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory shifted 5,000 email accounts to Google Apps.[44] On July 22, 2010, the General Services Administration certified that Google Apps met its GSA's cybersecurity requirements.[44] On October 29, 2010, Google filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Interior, which opened up a bid for software that required that bidders use Microsoft's Business Productivity Online Suite. Google sued, calling the requirement "unduly restrictive of competition."[46] Scholars have pointed out that, beginning in 2005, the prevalence of open standards and open source may begin to significantly change way that public entities (which represent some of the worlds' most significant software purchases) choose to select vendors.[47]
See also
References
- ^ "Article in Wired". Wired. http://www.wired.com/wiredenterprise/2011/10/chromebook-raises-second-child/. Retrieved 7 October 2011.
- ^ a b Rob Siemborski (2007-10-12). "More Gmail storage coming for all". Google. http://gmailblog.blogspot.com/2007/10/more-gmail-storage-coming-for-all.html. Retrieved 2008-05-29.
- ^ "Google Apps Marketplace". http://www.google.com/enterprise/marketplace/.
- ^ Lee Rickwood (2007-03-23). "Google Apps: Killer software or killer decision?". PCWorld.ca. http://www.pcworld.ca/news/column/8088b6470a01040800f483b40707b39a/pg1.htm. Retrieved 2008-05-29.
- ^ David Berlind (2007-06-25). "Google improves ‘Apps’, offers organizations clear path off Exchange, Notes, etc. to GMail". ZDNet. http://blogs.zdnet.com/Berlind/?p=580. Retrieved 2008-05-29.
- ^ "Google Adds Postini's Security and Compliance Capabilities to Google Apps". Google Press Center. 2007-10-03. http://www.google.com/intl/en/press/pressrel/apps_postini_20071003.html. Retrieved 2008-05-29.
- ^ "Google Apps - Additional security and compliance options". Google. http://www.google.com/a/help/intl/en/admins/security.html. Retrieved 2008-05-29.
- ^ "Google Sites". Google. http://www.google.com/sites/overview.html. Retrieved 2008-05-29.
- ^ "Gmail Gets Offline Support, Finally". shilpz. http://glamizer.blogspot.com/2009/01/gmail-gets-offline-support-finally.html. Retrieved 2009-01-29.
- ^ http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/04/01/gmail-themes-finally-come-to-google-apps/
- ^ http://lifehacker.com/5192677/google-apps-adds-support-for-themes
- ^ http://jkontherun.com/2009/06/09/google-apps-sync-for-microsoft-outlook-treads-on-microsoft-exchange/
- ^ http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/google_and_microsoft_sitting_in_a_tree.php
- ^ "Google Apps is out of beta (yes, really)". http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2009/07/google-apps-is-out-of-beta-yes-really.html.
- ^ "Google to Launch Government Cloud". http://www.govtech.com/gt/724044.
- ^ "Google Opens Google Apps Marketplace". http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/191149/google_opens_google_apps_marketplace.html. Retrieved 10 March 2010.
- ^ "Google Wave Available for Everyone". The Google Wave Blog. Google. 18 May 2010. http://googlewave.blogspot.com/2010/05/google-wave-available-for-everyone.html. Retrieved 3 June 2010.
- ^ "Update on Google Wave". The Google Wave Blog. Google. 4 August 2010. http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2010/08/update-on-google-wave.html.
- ^ "Helping small businesses start and manage Google Apps for Business". Google. 26 April 2011. http://googleenterprise.blogspot.com/2011/04/helping-small-businesses-start-and.html.
- ^ "Google Apps FAQ: Standard vs. Premiere". Zadling. http://www.zadling.com/google-apps/google-apps-faq-standard-vs-premiere/.
- ^ "Google Help Center: Standard Edition user accounts". Google. http://www.google.com/support/a/bin/answer.py?answer=113251.
- ^ "Google Apps Blog - 50 user limit for new Standard Edition customers". Google. http://googleappsupdates.blogspot.com/2009/01/50-user-limit-for-new-standard-edition.html.
- ^ "Google Help Center: Purchase and Renewals". Google. http://www.google.com/support/a/bin/answer.py?answer=56904.
- ^ "Google Apps - Google Apps Standard Edition helps groups build community". Google. http://www.google.com/apps/intl/en/group/index.html. Retrieved 2009-07-01.
- ^ a b "Google Apps - Mail Sending Limits". Google. http://www.google.com/support/a/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=166862. Retrieved 2009-12-14.
- ^ "Google Apps Partner Edition". Google accessdate= 2011-09-01. http://www.google.com/a/help/intl/en/partners/.
- ^ "Business online messaging and collaboration applications – Google Apps". Google. http://www.google.com/apps/intl/en/business/features.html.
- ^ "Applications de messagerie et de collaboration en ligne professionnelles : Google Apps". Google. http://www.google.com/apps/intl/fr/business/features.html.
- ^ "Business online messaging and collaboration applications – Google Apps". Google. http://www.google.com/apps/intl/en-GB/business/features.html.
- ^ "Google Apps Education Edition agreement". Google. http://www.google.com/a/help/intl/en/admins/education_terms.html. Retrieved 2008-05-29.
- ^ http://googleenterprise.blogspot.com/2011/06/bigger-mail-on-campus.html
- ^ "Google Apps Education Edition agreement". Google. http://www.google.com/a/help/intl/en/admins/education_terms.html. Retrieved 2008-05-29.
- ^ http://googleenterprise.blogspot.com/2011/06/bigger-mail-on-campus.html
- ^ Formerly Standard, and not the other way around https://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0AZ3anMHF5p_-ZGRnYzJrdmJfNTg1ZHBnbTJiaGM&hl=en&authkey=CN_7t4MJ
- ^ "Higher" means Premier, Education, Business and Governement
- ^ At least for Standards, Google Groups do not use the custom domain name
- ^ Real name is "Google Video for Business" and it is different from Google Video (search)
- ^ | title=Enterprise Collaboration & Social Software Vendor Evaluations | accessdate=2011-04-18
- ^ Google software bug shared private online documents, AFP, March 10, 2009
- ^ Example FOI request wrt Google and RIPA, PSNI, Date Unknown
- ^ [http://www.statewatch.org/news/2008/jul/uk-interception-of-comm-report-2007.pdf Report of the Interception of Communications Commissioner for 2007], House of Commons, July 22, 2008
- ^ Google Blog stating that 25 million people have adopted Apps
- ^ [1]
- ^ a b c Efrati, Amir (July 26, 2010). "Microsoft Google View To Sell U.S. Cloud Mail". Wall Street Journal: p. B1.
- ^ [2]
- ^ Google, Inc. vs. the United States
- ^ Casson and Ryan, Open Standards, Open Source Adoption in the Public Sector, and Their Relationship to Microsoft’s Market Dominance
Further reading
- Beswick, James (2009). Getting Productive With Google Apps. San Francisco, CA: 415 Systems. ISBN 9781440486760.
- Conner, Nancy (2008). Google Apps: The Missing Manual. Sebastopol: Pogue Press. ISBN 9780596515799.
- Granneman, Scott (2008). Google Apps Deciphered: Compute in the Cloud to Streamline Your Desktop. USA: Prentice Hall. ISBN 9780137004706.
- Meet the father of Google Apps (who used to work at Microsoft)
External links