Why Use Google Apps for Business

Google Apps have been around for a while now and Google have been promoting the Cloud for business for over 10 years now. For those who don't know what Google Apps are, it is a service from Google featuring many web applications with similar functionality to traditional office suites like Microsoft office. Some of the many apps include Gmail, Google Calendar, Talk, Docs and Sites. The difference between Google Docs and office suites like Microsoft office is that all of Google apps are on the cloud, in other words on a server available 24/7 and can be accessed anywhere. You don't have to buy any software or hardware to use the apps and there is very little administration. Google apps bring the power of mobile computing to your fingertips. You don't have to be tied down to the office anymore, you can work anywhere at any time and be confident that your documents and critical business data is safe and secure in Google's hands.

Modern business is not just carried out in the office anymore. Mobile working is growing and that is thanks to cloud computing. You can be anywhere in the world and access your data, email, calendar and talk to colleagues. All you need is an internet connection. All of these applications can be used via an iPhone, blackberry or android phones and even some less powerful phones. This is how modern day business is carried out and it is set to stay

You get far more storage with Gmail and more security. Gmail is powered by Postini which is an E-mail and Web security and archiving service which has been owned by Google since 2007. The service provides efficient cloud computing services for filtering e-mail spam and malware actually before it is delivered to a client's mail server.

The benefits are obvious. Apart from the mobile working benefits and security the cost savings really add up. If you have 10 employees you need 10 office software certificates, whereas with Google apps you don't need to buy anything. All you need is a computer with internet access. For new businesses working with Google apps is ideal, training your staff to work on the cloud will ensure you business is run smoothly and securely without any worry about hardware and software down time.

Google has partnered up with many Google Apps Resellers so companies can help with the transition from regular software and working practices to working on the cloud. Google also provide customer support all day every day. You can contact Google via email, instant chat online or by phone. The likelihood of need to contact Google is slim because of the advanced security features. They store all of the data on many data centers so if one fail to retrieve your information it will automatically point to another server. As the servers are synchronised, you will only ever get up to date real time date.

You get peace of mind because Google Apps is the very first cloud based solutions to receive the FISMA certification. This means Google's security and network operations have been given the thumbs up from the Federal Information Security Management Act. To receive a certificate from the FISMA, guidelines and the correct implementation security control need to be adhered to. Google have a security team working all hours to ensure that data on the cloud is safe and secure.

If your software of PC has been hacked and you have lost data which lost your business a lot of time and money you can see why Google apps are beneficial to businesses. More and more are catching on to this concept and with what I have stated above it's not hard to see why. I have been converted and I hope more and more businesses will realise the benefits and more their business activities onto the cloud. Google rocks!