Google Apps Premier Edition
Two months ago I discussed the possibility for Google Apps to get a foothold in the Enterprise market and called for some changes for a few changes to their strategy to succeed in this marked. This week it seems that Google has moved a step closer to success in the enterprise marked by launching it's Google Apps Premier Edition. For $50 a year / account you'll get 99,9% uptime guarantee, 10GB e-mail account and an Extensible API for integrating your existing IT systems.
Allthough details are a bit thin it looks like Google also have dealt with my biggest objection against the enterprise using Google Apps and made ads "optional". But how cheap is 50$/year? For the commercial enterprise it is not bad. But for educational institutions I belive it is not cheap enough. It's for instance probably about three to five times the average price for a managed learning platform.
So my next prediction is that in a few months time we'll see a "Google Apps Education Premier Edition" that will give you no-ads, guaranteed uptime, limited support for 10-15$ a year/student :-)
5 comments:
I have been using Google Apps since August now … and I think its very cool. But the best thing is the Google API. For example we are developing an FREE open source "business application platform" (think salesforce.com). Our first application is working tightly integrated with GOOGLE APPS. http://www.applicationexchange.com.
Hi Thomas,
that's a pretty interesting application you're working on. I think in a few years there will be a lot of integrated SaaS solutions like this. This migth be the true Web 3.0... :-)
As a technologist with one foot deeply buried in the business side of running tech companies I do however get all these questions popping up when you say it's a FREE service you're developing. Surely you then plan to create revenues by selling ads in the application? If so, do you think that managing directors will consider it "free" to have employees distracted off by advertising in their daily work?
:-)
It's free for educational institutions.
I don't belive in calling ad-funded software free. Yes - there is no monetary cost, but your students or emloyees will be subjected to advertising which has the cost of them spending time (and their own money) og googles sponsors.
The premium edition let you turn off the text-ads and could evolve to a pretty good deal for educational institutions. But it is at the moment to expencive.
I've just added a post that is quite relevant to this dicussion:
http://jabsjoblog.blogspot.com/2007/03/advertising-in-school.html
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