What Is Google Apps Business Vs. Standard?
If you don't have a Google account, you probably know someone who does. Google offers email and other services to individuals or small groups and to businesses. "Standard" Google accounts have some of the same features as Google Apps for Business, but Business account subscribers have substantially more features, security, support and storage space. They also come at a cost while standard Google Apps users have free accounts.
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Basic Features for Both
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There are four key features to Google Apps whether you use the standard Apps or Apps for Business. Gmail is Google's online email service that provides user access anywhere there is Internet connection. Google Calendar is available to all users, which can sync with smartphones and Microsoft Outlook. Google Sites helps users create basic websites for sharing information with friends or groups. Finally, Google Docs helps users upload and share documents in common formats like Microsoft Excel and Word files. Aside from these key features, Google account holders have access to other apps like Google Reader, Blogger, Picasa Web Albums and AdWords.
Additional Business Features
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Google Apps for Business email accounts can use different domains for email addresses, such as "yourname@yourcompany.com." Business accounts have stronger security such as SSO, forced SSL, custom password strength requirements, encryption and customizable filtering. They have access to 24-hour phone and email support. Google Apps for Business also provides Google Video for Business for video conferencing and Google Groups for Business. The Google Calendar app has more capabilities such as centralizing company schedules and send text message reminders for appointments. Finally, Business account users can disable advertising on their Gmail account while standard users can't.
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Space
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Google Apps for Business provides more space for users in two ways. First, subscribers are allowed an unlimited number of user accounts, while a standard Google Apps user can only have up to ten accounts. Second, standard users roughly have about 7.5 MB of online storage space for all of their apps, while Business account users have much more. They have up to 25 GB of email storage space and more archiving ability, 1 GB of Google Docs storage, 10 GB of Google Sites storage and 500 MB of shared storage on Google Sites.
Cost
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Standard Google Apps users access their accounts and all of their features for free. Google Apps for Business costs a monthly fee. After a free trial period for one month, subscribers can choose a flexible plan for $5 per user account, per month, with no contract; or an annual plan for $50 per user account per year. That's about $4.17 per user, per month.
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References
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