Google Apps breakdown: the advantages of Google's cloud.

• Author: Gray, Bruce A.
• Position: Cloud Computing

There's no doubt we want our data to be accessible wherever we are, on whatever platform is handy and to be able to share said data. These trends have moved computing away from fixed platforms and into the "cloud."

In short, cloud computing is sharing resources, software and information via the internet, generally through a third-party server.

Microsoft has taken its Office software suite to the internet, and even allowed you to place virtual storage on the internet. Google has answered the challenge by creating Google Apps.

First there was Gmail (Google's free email application:, then came Google Talk. Google's entry into the instant messaging space. Now we have Google Calendar, Google Sites and Google Does. You can set up your office network by creating a Gmail account and having access to the internet.

Google Apps is available in a free version, as well as a more robust business version. Let's look at the various applications and the differences between the two.

Email via Gmail

Gmail has become a popular alternative to other web-based, free email accounts, such as Hotmail and Yahoo. Each Gmail account has a 7.5-gigabyte storage and each organization can have up to 50 user accounts. If you upgrade to the business version, the storage per account is 25 gigabytes and you can have-unlimited user accounts.

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Google Calendar

Google Calendar is a web-based collaborative calendar. You can share events with others and post events on shared calendars. It will even synchronize with your mobile phone and can be accessed by your phone's browser. This is an excellent tool for project management. It also can send invitations to others and track their responses. Notifications can be customized so that you can receive a text message or an e-mail to remind you of upcoming calendar items.

Google Sites

Need to have a work project website available or a group wiki? Google Sites allows for a quick creation of websites. There are templates that enable a virtual point and click creation of a group website. Use Google Sites for an intranet worksite, a collaborative wiki or even for a marketing resource. You can control access and editing capabilities by user to protect information yet still allow access to others outside your work group.

Google Docs

This is probably one of the more exciting and popular components of Google Apps.

You can create spreadsheets, documents, presentations, drawings and HTML forms that can be shared, accessed and...