Google is operating in the cloud and the company is looking to get the rest of us to do our computing up there, as well. The company announced the launch of an online store for business applications that run over the internet.
More than 50 companies have agreed to sell software through the Google store. For each sale made, Google will take a 20 percent cut. Software services available on the site range from $50 a year to several hundred dollars on an annual basis.
Chris Vander Mey, product manager, Google Apps Marketplace, wrote on the Google Blog, "Once installed to a company's domain, these third-party applications work like native Google applications. With administrator approval, they may interact with calendar, email, document and/or contact data to increase productivity. Administrators can manage the applications from the familiar Google Apps control panel, and employees can open them from within Google Apps. With OpenID integration, Google Apps users can access the other applications without signing in separately to each. The Google Apps Marketplace eliminates the worry about software updates, keeping track of different passwords and manual syncing and sharing of data, thereby increasing business productivity and lessening frustrations for users and IT administrators alike."
Google claims that roughly 25 million people in more than two million businesses use its online applications. According to an Associated Press report, Google's revenues from software licensing grew from $181 million in 2007 to $762 million last year.
Discussion Questions: What effect will the Google Apps Marketplace have on internal company application management? Do you see this as a smart solution for both large and small businesses? Are there inherent dangers in relying on Google for important business applications?