Google Apps for Business: The Real Deal

A recent blog post by one of our competitors from April 2013 stated several inconsistencies regarding Google Apps for Business and their pricing structure. We would like to take a moment to run through these to ensure that the general public is not only well-informed, but also not hit with a “bait-and-switch” when it comes to using Google Apps for Business. All Star Computer Service uses Google Apps for Business not only internally, but we set up the service as part of our domain management service for our clients. We have over a dozen small business clients on the platform and it has proved to be one of the most cost-effective, secure tools for email, domain and web-based document/conference call collaboration.

The blog reads:

“…(A)t ******** our goal is to provide solutions that best fit our client’s needs, size and budget and when you are a small business with little to no IT budget – free AND reliable is music to your ears.

Google Apps for business has a number of benefits over traditional business IT services and servers running software to handle email, calendars, communications, storage and collaboration.”

Here, we set the record straight: though Google Apps for Business is powerful and a cost-effective alternative to traditional server-based emails, it is not free. The service is offered at a very inexpensive $50 per user, per year; or $5.00 per user, per month. The pricing structure can be found here.

Though Google Apps was initially available for free for small businesses, Google changed their pricing structure in late 2012. Below is taken directly from the Official Google Enterprise Blog, which can be found here.

“When we launched the premium business version we kept our free, basic version as well. Both businesses and individuals signed up for this version, but time has shown that in practice, the experience isn't quite right for either group. Businesses quickly outgrow the basic version and want things like 24/7 customer support and larger inboxes. Similarly, consumers often have to wait to get new features while we make them business-ready. 

With this in mind, we’ve decided to make things very straightforward. Starting today for all new customers:

               ·  Individuals wishing to use Google’s web apps
              like Gmail and Google Drive should create a free
             personal Google Account, which provides a seamless 
             experience across all of our web service on any device.

              ·  For Businesses, instead of two versions, there will be one.
             Companies of all sizes will sign up for our premium version, 
             Google Apps for Business, which includes 24/7 phone
             support for any issue, a 25GB inbox, and a 99.9% uptime 
             guarantee with no scheduled downtime.Pricing is still
             $50 per user, per year.”

 Now, many of the features in Google Apps, including Google Drive, Google Calendar and Gmail, are available for free for standard users with a @gmail.com address. However, the blog post by our competitor words their dissertation on the idea that a small business can register a custom domain name (think you@yourbusiness.com) and take advantage of these offerings from Google with no financial commitment.

The All Star Computer Service mission statement has always been to offer the best customer service and the best computer support at the best price. Google Apps for Business is one of the many tools we employ to help us maintain that promise to our customers. If your small business is looking at improving productivity while having one of the best cloud-based domain/email systems available, we would love to talk with you about Google Apps for Business.