Google Apps - no longer free

[Alan]

Hi, Google Apps used to be free until very recently. It provided a powerful set of cloud solution (documents, calendar, massive e-mail storage on your own domain and more) for free for businesses with less than 10 employees.

But now it is no longer free http://cheapwebsite.me.uk/2012/12/shock-horror-google-apps-is-no-longer-free/

So what will we use now for micro businesses? What is the best solution?

Microsoft 365 is priced the same (approx) as Google Apps, is it a viable choice? I haven't had a good look, but I might be doing s soon.

 

[Paul Kelly ICHYB]

Google Apps is a great business asset and has had a free version for several years.

If you have not yet signed up, looks like you have missed the boat!

See here.

 

[That Guy]

Thank god I got mine around 2 years ago.

Shame they are getting rid of the free accounts, but at least existing free accounts are not affected

 

[carter2]

I don't have one and now they charge for making one instead of free accounts as it used to be

 

[Talay]

The writing has been on the door for quite some time.

Last month, I registered a new domain and set up Google Apps and trying to find the free access was nigh on impossible. Only a quick google itself produced the correct link !

It used to be 30/50 users and then down to 10 and now you pay. But in reality, $5 a month or whatever is peanuts.

 

[FutureNetMedia]

It's a shame they're changing policy. I'm just glad that I am already subscribed.

 

[uk_biz]

Not like Google to charge for apps but guess they need to make the extra revenue from some where.

 

[fisicx]

Shame they are getting rid of the free accounts, but at least existing free accounts are not affected

Yet.

I'd put money on the service getting worse and worse with all sorts of restructions appearing as time goes on.

 

[andygambles]

Yet.

I'd put money on the service getting worse and worse with all sorts of restructions appearing as time goes on.

Not sure about getting worse. It is possible that new release features will start being paid for only and not released to the standard accounts.

 

[Cromulent]

I'm thinking about transitioning my email to my own servers now. Although I absolutely hate the effort involved in hosting SMTP / IMAP servers I'd rather make sure that my service is stable. Plus I'm always having to create email accounts for various domains so I guess in the long run it will be a better solution for me. Especially as I never use the web mail features.

 

[andygambles]

I'm thinking about transitioning my email to my own servers now. Although I absolutely hate the effort involved in hosting SMTP / IMAP servers I'd rather make sure that my service is stable. Plus I'm always having to create email accounts for various domains so I guess in the long run it will be a better solution for me. Especially as I never use the web mail features.

Why would moving it to your own servers make it more stable?

 

[FutureNetMedia]

http://lifehacker.com/5967154/what-should-i-do-now-that-google-apps-accounts-are-no-longer-free Some free alternatives

 

[middleastravel12]

Any latest updates in Google Apps ?

 

[That Guy]

You can still grab a free Google Apps account using This Method.

Just incase people still want to grab one

 

[That Guy]

You can still grab a free Google Apps account using This Method.

Just incase people still want to grab one

 

[Cromulent]

Why would moving it to your own servers make it more stable?

Stable in the sense that it won't be revoked if Google decide that they no longer want to support free accounts at all.

I didn't mean stability in terms of uptime. I'm certain Google can beat me on that front .

 

[Alan]

Of course, Google crashes now http://news.yahoo.com/google-widespread-outage-172933146--abc-news-tech.html

That backdoor reported above is still open, it is a bit long winded, but does give you a 1 user Google App, not that useful for businesses with more than 1 person, but at least means there is still a free way to use Google Mail with your own domain.

 

[Alan]

@FutureNetMedia thanks for the LifeHacker article. I am testing out Zoho, it looks like a good alternative for domain name e-mails for small businesses with a free 3 user account. https://www.zoho.com/mail/zohomail-pricing.html

 

[fisicx]

Why the obsession with free? Is your business so desperate for cash it can't afford the few dollars per month for a set of decent business tools.

In any case you need a decent internet connections and an fixed place of work use online tools.

I met a client in a pub that only offered 'thecloud' and 3G was non-existant. We couldn't connect to anything. But it didn't matter as all the tools I needed were on my laptop. I functioned, he couldn't.

 

[siwi]

Businesses looking to use the free, basic edition of Google Apps can no longer count on a free ride: they'll now need to sign up for the premium version, Google Apps for Business, at $50 per user, per year.
I saw this...and was wondering why such change?

 

[ecenica]

Not like Google to charge for apps but guess they need to make the extra revenue from some where.

True. Let's not forget Google is a huge, multi $billion US business, so they need to make their shareholders money from somewhere. Even if they're not apparently paying much/any UK corporation tax.

Never used Google Apps for anything serious as don't agree with Google's approach to data privacy. Does the paid version still display content-driven ads?

Rich

 

[smithbuckkk]

it's not true that google apps not free ................

 

[ecenica]

it's not true that google apps not free ................

Interesting.

Here's a quote from the Official Google Enterprise Blog;

Changes to Google Apps for businesses

With this in mind, we've decided to make things very straightforward. 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.

Existing Google Apps users still have free access for now. There does appear to be a workaround for users who only want a single email address/mailbox but not really practical for business users with aspirations to expand. Also not sure if their small print allows.

Rich

 

[andygambles]

Does the paid version still display content-driven ads?

Rich

It never did.