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Google Goes Corporate

Google is the Internet search engine leader. Its classic service offered free to users all over the world. In a new business move, the company now delivers business software tools to paying subscribers as well. Such programs as the Google Apps-Premier Edition (at $50 per employee per year) is designed to widen its appeal to corporate customers, beyond the private users market. The Apps-Premier, for instance, is a telephone technical support software and email service. It was first introduced as a free service but now, six months later, is packaged and marketed to corporate customers.

One advantage of the new service is that it is free of ads. The applications, including Gmail, Talk and Calendar features, are available free online and are used by over 100,000 small businesses and hundreds of universities. The company hopes to capitalize on the existing users and then some. The goals are in the millions, as Google Chief Executive Eric Schmidt said: ?We have a volume goal ... for millions and millions of users.?

Google is competing with Microsoft who offers similar services. The promise is for more functional and lower cost products. With services focused on the individual, rather than the corporation, and applications that allow teams of users to collaborate online in the various tasks, it is also shaking Microsoft to do the same. The company hopes to have smaller businesses start using its services, and later to focus on larger corporations, currently using the existing MS and IBM products, among others.