On December 6th, 2012, Google quietly killed off it’s free version of Google Apps for Business. Through a blog posting, Google announced that any existing users of Google Apps for Business would not see any issues, and the App would continue to work without issues. If, however, you don’t already have Google Apps for Business, there is no longer a free version and the charge would now be $50 per user per year.
The Standard Google Apps was available for free for businesses with under 50 users, and it provided calendars, emails, shared documents, spam and virus filtering and up to 7 GB of space per user. Many of our own clients here at Hands-on Web Hosting utilize Google Apps for Business to handle their mail rather than using the built in services that we offer. Google states that this will continue to function as it had in the past.
From the posting:
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 services 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.
The news comes with mixed feelings for the general community. Businesses that are utilizing the Google Apps, and were serious about it, needed more space than was available in the free version, so many of them upgraded to the paid plans. New businesses just starting out however, or those that were just testing the platform, will surely miss the free applications provided.
Google’s move to pull the free version and make it a paid only application will help ensure the longevity of the program, after-all, you can only go so far without financial support. Again, the recent change will only affect NEW customers, so there’s no impact for users that were already using the system. Google still offers a “Free Trial” for those that want to test the service, but continued use will result in a fee.
To experiment with Google Apps for Business, please check out their website at http://www.google.com/enterprise/apps/business/
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