Google today announced the launch of a new bundle of services targeted at corporations which include web based word processing and spreadsheet applications. Still in beta, the applications are being tested at several blue-chip corporations including General Electric.
The new package is said to priced at $50 per user, per year and includes significantly more email storage and technical support. Google has hinted that a blogging tool will be added to the budle next year.
Google has always denied that it has any interest in going head-tohead with Microsoft in the corporate software department, yet they announced the launch of the Premier Edition just as Microsoft announced the launch of Office 2007.
The Google Apps offering is what is known in technology circles as "hosted" software or "software as a service." Instead of running software on their own computers, companies rely on tech providers such as Google to run the software. Users then access the applications over the Internet through their Web browsers. Companies are spared most of the headaches of installing and managing software themselves and generally pay based on just how many employees use the product.
Trade-offs with such services can include less-sophisticated functions, issues with the security of data stored outside a corporation, and the inability to easily work on documents when there is no Internet connection, such as on a plane.
Revised version of a Wall Street Journal article (Kevin DeLaney, Feb 22 2007)
No comments:
Post a Comment