As I am preparing to write this blog post I am actually going down the memory lane some 11 years back. Circa 1999 – 2^nd day of my induction training at SQL Star International New Delhi’s regional office.  SQL is a leading provider of training and learning solutions in IT Industry. Ok so coming back to the class room , I was still digesting the over dose given to us on first day about ecommerce, IBM websphere , Oracle apps and now the trainer said have you heard of ‘Paperless Office’ ?  We were some 6 or 7 in the session and almost everyone’s reaction was – What the hell !!! The trainer then wrote on the white board that spelled like this – LOTUS NOTES .  The rest is history.

Circa 2010 – Office is completely paperless if you wish so and to top on it no several thousand dollar worth of software solution to achieve it all you need is to implement Google Apps for your business.

What is Google Apps? -

Google Apps is a simple online messaging and collaboration tools for groups/ collection of people / employees of organization/ students of a class etc.. It is a best answer for expensive and maintenance demanding software like Microsoft Exchange or Lotus Notes.  Today businesses of any size can start using Google Apps and the best news is that the standard Edition of it is free for until 100 users.

Components of Google Apps –

-          Gmail with inbuilt chat

-          Google Calendar

-          Google Docs

-          Google Sites

-          Google Groups

-          Google Videos

-          Postini – message security solution for google apps

The Standard Edition is free and any organization can implement it. This comes with Gmail, calendar, docs and sites.

Google apps Standard Edition

The premium solution is 50$ per year per user for the organization and includes all components.

Google apps Premium Edition

1. Gmail storage                   25 GB / user
2. Interoperability with Microsoft Outlook email and calendar
3. Sync with Blackberry Enterprise Server
4. Easy contacts management
5. Mobile email, calendar and IM access
6. Email security, powered by Postini
7. Gmail ads can be disabled
8. Resource scheduling in Google Calendar
9. Mailing list functionality and easy content sharing with groups

There are custom solutions for Schools, Non-profits and for Government .

What is needed to Start?

The ease with which Google docs can be implemented is truly amazing.  All you need is a domain name registered for your organization for example www.mycompanydomainname.com and the Standard edition comes to you for free!

Update: I just saw a simple calculator that google has placed here to show cost comparison with Microsoft Exchange server

Google Apps vs Microsoft Exchange Server

Leave a comment below if you wish to know more about this solution or need any help in implementing the same….. remember the Standard edition is free . And this is just the beginning as your organization grows you will find suite of applications at marketplace that are compatible and integrate directly with Google Apps.