Can I Add Google Voice to My Google Business Apps Account?

Google employees use 20% of their time for side projects that often turn into products like Google Voice.

Google Voice is the free phone-number, voice mail and texting service from Google. Google Apps is the paid version of the Google services designed for businesses to run on their own domain names and have greater data security. Google began allowing business users of Google Apps to use services such as Google Voice through a transition process started in May 2010.

Google Accounts vs. Google Apps

Google offers free accounts for general users that function under the "Gmail" domain name. Google Account holders with a Gmail login can also use the same login information to access other services, such as Google's Calendar, Documents and Voice. Google also launched a paid service known as Google Apps, which allows business users to host the Google services on a private domain name. At launch, Google Apps did not allow full access to all of the Google services, such as Voice. However, a transition process is rolling Google Apps accounts over to have access to nearly all Google services.

Google Apps Transition

To add access to the myriad Google services, Google is transitioning Google Apps users to a new infrastructure; it allows the individual Apps users to sign in to Google service from any Google log-in by using the Google Apps domain name. Prior to the transition, Google Apps users had to sign in to Google Apps first before using any of the services. Contact your company's Google Apps administrator, for more information on your transition status. Until your Apps account is transitioned, you won't be able to use Google Voice.

Transitions Not Working

Due to glitches in the infrastructure for some Google Apps accounts the transition process is not working. Google has promised to continue working on the code to make the transition smooth and seamless. Yet, until the coding is done by Google, there will be a few Google Apps users who are not able to log in and use Google Voice with a Google Apps account. Google recommends signing up for a free Google Account and using Google Voice through that service, while it continues to work on the transition.

Google Voice

Google Voice users have one phone number than can ring any phone they own, make calls and send text messages for free via an internet connection and make inexpensive international calls. If you have a Google Voice number associated with the wrong account you can petition for the number to be reassigned. So, if you need a Google Account Voice number associated with a Google Apps account that has already been transitioned, you will need to submit the request to Google through a form labeled: "Request to Allow Google Voice Transfer."

References

• Google Support: What's the difference between a Google account and a Google Apps account?
• Google Support: What's changing
• Google Support: One or more of your accounts cannot be transitioned at this time

Resources

• Request to allow Google Voice account transfer