Google’s ( News - Alert) suite of hosted applications, which includes the Google Talk instant messaging and VoIP  bundle, has been revamped by the search service provider to now better serve the enterprise market. Google launched today the Google Apps Premier Edition, now available for $50 per user account per year. The package includes of phone support, additional storage, and a new set of admin and business integration capabilities.
Google had launched Google Apps Standard Edition as a suite of applications including Gmail Web-based e-mail; Google Calendar — a shared calendar program; Google Talk; and a Start Page feature for customizing home pages on specific domains last summer. This Premier Edition will now join Google’s previously launched Education Edition, which in addition to the Standard Edition, will continue to be offered for free to groups.
All editions of Google Apps now feature Google Docs & Spreadsheets, as well as Gmail support for mobile on BlackBerry ( News - Alert) handheld devices.
“Businesses are looking for applications that are simple and intuitive for employees, but also offer the security, reliability and manageability their organizations require,” commented Google Enterprise’s vice president and general manager Dave Girouard in a statement. “With Google Apps, our customers can tap into an unprecedented stream of technology and innovation at a fraction of the cost of traditional installed solutions.”
Other Google Apps Premier Edition features include 10 GBs of storage per user; APIs for business integration; 24x7 support for critical issues; and an option to turn off ads.
All editions of Google Apps are available in English, French, Italian, German, Spanish, Chinese, Japanese and Korean.
Google also announced today that Avaya ( News - Alert) just joined its Google Enterprise Professional program to develop, market and support offers that integrate Avaya’s communications systems for small businesses with the new Google Apps Premier Edition.
The companies plan its first collaboration project to include Avaya’s IP Office, which is the company’s IP telephony communications system for small and mid-size businesses. The integrated solution should be available this fall.
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Johanne Torres is contributing editor for TMCnet and Internet Telephony magazine. To see more articles by Johanne Torres, please visit her columnist page.
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