Google Apps is high quality, feature rich but easy-to-use eMail system hosted in the Cloud. When we say “in the Cloud” we mean it is an internet based application that can be accessed by a web browser. It doesn’t require any new hardware or any special software to be loaded on your computer.
Google Apps is a suite of tools for handling your companies communication and collaboration needs. It offers the familiar gMail interface that is already being used and loved by millions of users around the world. eMail is just the beginning though, imagine being able to work with the same easy-to-use interface on any computer, anywhere! Whether you’re on Windows, Mac or Linux it’s the same.
Not only do you get eMail, Calendar & Contacts Management you’re probably used to but you also get Google Docs which is a fully functional Office Suite as well as 5GB of free online storage via Google Drive.
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Primary Features
- Easy-to-Use and Intuitive Web Interface
- Custom eMail Addresses (name@yourdomain.com)
- Full Mobile Synchronisation for eMail, Calendar & Contacts (iPhone, Android, Blackberry, Windows Phone 7)
- Up to 25GB of storage per account meaning you no longer have to worry about running out of space again
- A 99.9% Financially Backed Uptime Guarantee
- The Ability to Collaborate with Colleges or Customers on Documents in Real-Time
- Cross Platform Compatibility (PC, Mac, Linux, Mobile, Tablets)
- Your data protected by automatic backups and military grade security
- Is a significant improvement to POP3/SMTP eMail
- Access to the Google Apps Marketplace where you can integrate thousands of other productivity improving apps.
Editions
Google Apps comes in several flavours, these are the ones we support: –
- Google Apps (Free) – A fantastic replacement for a standard Internet or free eMail accounts or as a way to allow you to use your own domain name (instead of using a @gmail.com, @hotmail.com or @yahoo.com for example). It comes with eMail, Calendar, Contact and Docs and includes 10GB of eMail storage for free! You just have to put up with a few Ad’s running down the right hand side (as with most free eMail systems).
- Google Apps for Business – A full business class eMail system that competes directly with Microsoft Outlook/Exchange. It includes all the standard and advanced features a business may need whether you’re an only employee or have thousands of employees. Each account get’s 25GB of eMail storage and has additional management and integration capabilities required by business users such as mobile management. This is the standard choice most businesses go for.
- Google Apps for Education – All the features of Google Apps for Business but Free!!! It’s a ‘no-brainer’ decision for most schools and with significantly reduced management and implementation overheads, it’s becoming the standard for most schools now.
Who uses Google Apps?
Google Apps for Business is a perfect example of an easy to use but feature rich set of business applications built around the extreemly successful gMail platform. Migrations can take place from POP3/IMAP, Microsoft Exchange/Outlook, Lotus Notes/Domino, Novell GroupWise or any other eMail system that allows the exporting of data into a standard format.
The beauty of Google Apps is it’s scalability, it can be used by individuals all the way up to business with hundreds of thousands of users.
One of the great advantages to using cloud based applications is that new product updates are automatically applied for you (you can find all the latest news on the Google Apps – What’s New blog page).
For the stat lovers our there – Over 4 million business use Google Apps Business, over 14 million pupils and teachers use Apps Education, and many many more individuals and charities use Google Apps Free Edition.
These numbers are growing everyday with some very well known brands ditching their old internal eMail systems and moving to a more reliable, easier to manage and more cost effective solution. Users include Virgin Airlines, Cap Gemini, Jaguar, Land Rover, University of Westminster to name but a few and recently the Spanish Bank – Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA) announced it was moving over 110,000 users to Google Apps.
To find out more you can view various case studies here.
Security
Your data is private and secure, with 99.9% uptime and best in class disaster recovery at no charge.
It’s your content, not Google’s. Your Apps content belongs to your business, your school, or individual users. Not Google.
Google don’t look at your content. Google employees will only access content that you store on Apps when an administrator from your domain grants Google employees explicit permission to do so for troubleshooting.
Google don’t share your content. Google does not share personal information with advertisers or other 3rd parties without your consent.
Google sometimes scan content. And for very good reasons, like spam filtering, anti-virus protection, or malware detection. Our systems scan content to make Apps work better for users, enabling unique functionality like powerful search in Gmail and Google Docs. This is completely automated and involves no humans.
Note that there are a few common-sense exceptions to the points above, like valid legal processes and maintaining the safety and security of Google’s systems. For more information, see Google’s detailed Privacy Policy, Privacy Principles, and Terms of Service.
EU-US Privacy & Compliancy
- The controls, processes and policies that protect user data in our systems have obtained a SSAE 16 Type II attestation and will continue to seek similar attestation.
- Google complies with applicable US privacy law, and the Google Apps Terms of Service can specifically detail our obligations and compliance with FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act) regulations.
- Google is registered with the US-EU Safe Harbor agreement, which helps ensure that our data protection compliance meets European Union standards for educational institutions.
