Gmail   |   Calendar   |   Docs   |   Sites   |   Postini   |   Resources

 

In the past, access to the best technology was at the office. Today, it’s not unlikely that home computers or devices are better than anything given to staff at the office. Additionally, consumer applications such as mobile text, YouTube, Picasa, Skype, Facebook and Twitter have changed the way employees communicate, create, store and share information. What advances have been made in the workplace? Have email, word processing and collaboration applications improved as the same rate?

Google Apps is not Google’s version of what already exists. Google Apps are built from the ground up – or perhaps the cloud up – specifically for cloud implementation.

As a Google Apps solution provider, we know that one of the keys to successful implementation is the understanding of how the features of each Google application can solve your everyday challenges.

The following information provides an overview and resources for each of the key apps.

Gmail

Gmail allows you to run your business, not your email server. Gmail for business offers 25 GB of storage per user, powerful spam filtering, contacts management, BlackBerry and Outlook interoperability, and 99.9% uptime.

With Gmail, IM (Instant Messaging) as well as voice and video chat are integrated into one application. Since it is powered by the web, you can be productive from your desk, on the road, at home and on your mobile phone.

Regardless of whether you have an Android phone, Windows Mobile, iPhone or Blackberry – you can sync with your Gmail. Powerful features allow you to search and find emails easily, including historical threads of emails. Other features include tags and labels (to organize your emails, including colour coding), tasks (add messages to your task list), filters, archiving and the collaborative power of integrated IM, voice and video.

Google Calendar

Google Calendar is a web-based application that enables employees to work together efficiently and helps to minimize the costs and IT hassles.

Functionality includes the ability to overlay multiple calendars to see when people are available, along with an invitation-RSVP management system. Calendars can be shared company-wide or with select co-workers. A range of sharing permissions controls and helps maintain security and privacy.

Your Calendar can be viewed, edited, guests invited, and new events created from your mobile devices as well. Google Calendar also makes it very easy to publish external company events by publishing a calendar to make it searchable in the Google Calendar gallery – they are easy to embed into a web page too.

Google Docs

Google Docs provides a full suite of online documents with real-time collaboration. These web-based documents, spreadsheets, drawings and presentations allow users to edit the same file at the same time – so you always have the latest version.

Web-based documents, spreadsheets, drawings and presentations mean that you’ll have access to your work anywhere, anytime. Google Docs is securely powered by the web, giving you the flexibility to be productive from your desk, on the road, at home and on your mobile phone.

Google Docs works in the browser on PC, Mac, and Linux computers, and supports popular formats such as .doc, .xls, .ppt and .pdf. You can upload and easily share files, which are stored in Google Docs and are always accessible and automatically backed-up online.

Administrators can also manage file sharing permissions system-wide, and document owners can share and revoke file access at any time. Of course you will also benefit from regular feature enhancements without having to worry about installing new software or worrying about file compatibility. With Google Docs it’s simple and easy to use.

Google Sites

Google Sites allows you to create dynamic web pages as easily as writing a document. You can create secure web pages for intranets and team projects—all without HTML or coding.

With Google Sites, you can create efficient work flows by centralizing documents, spreadsheets, presentations, videos, slideshows and more to help keep your teams organized and productive. Google Sites comes with templates for project workspaces, team sites, intranets and more – enabling you to build sites quickly and efficiently.

Just like other Google Apps, you can access company pages from your desk, on the road, at home and on your mobile phone. You can work across operating systems as well (PC, Mac and Linux).

Postini Security and Archiving

Compliance and e-discovery risks exist for organizations of all types today. A proactive strategy for managing these risks includes email archiving and search tools that allow organizations to respond quickly and effectively when the need arises. Google Apps customers can purchase archiving and search tools as an add-on product for Google Apps.

Archiving and e-discovery, powered by Postini, provides users the ability to:

• Allow administrators to search a centralized email archive.
• Set email retention periods for up to 10 years to comply with corporate policies.
• Implement litigation holds to preserve email messages.
• Identify and export email messages for further analysis & review.

Archiving and discovery tools are available as an add-on for Google Apps for Business.

Complete Google Apps Resource

A complete online resource for Google Apps is available here.
The complete Google Apps YouTube Channel is available here.