Google Apps provide an online office solution. Google Apps is a suite of office and communication applications designed for businesses, schools and nonprofits. Most typically, “Google Apps” refers to an office-type suite comprising Google Docs, Gmail, Google Groups, Sites, GoogleTalk and Google Calendar. Like other office suites available commercially or for free, the applications in Google Apps work seamlessly with each other: Google Docs (which contains word processor, presentation software, spreadsheet and drawing software) works easily with Gmail, and its online storage capacity is useful for real-time collaboration.
Google Docs is an office suite made up of a word processor, spreadsheet and presentation software. It’s considered by many to be a simpler version of Microsoft Office, the industry standard in office software. Running through a browser and a high-speed Internet connection, Google Docs provides stripped-down tools for each purpose.
Google Docs has no animated text or graphics in the presentation software. The word processor offers far fewer fonts, and the spreadsheet has a much simplified “Format Cell(s)” dialog. Compared to leading mail applications Outlook and Thunderbird, Gmail is a user-friendly and full-featured competitor, and the Google Calendar offers versatile functionality. As far as collaboration goes, the online suite facilitates work: Since the apps are browser-based, collaboration in real-time is just a click away.
Google’s communication apps offer multifeatured solutions. Gmail is one of the most popular email platforms worldwide, and Google Talk integrates voice and video chat as well as SMS texting and phone calls using Google Voice. Once you’ve created an account with Google Voice and chosen a VOIP phone number, you can text anyone and make a phone call right from your Gmail portal. With the Video and Voice plug-in, you can make and receive video calls.
The Google Apps Marketplace offers add-on applications that compete with almost any office software available. You can shop for CRM, or customer relationship management, apps, project management apps, social networking apps, email marketing apps, collaboration apps and graphic design apps — all running through your browser.
Some of the more popular apps include Aviary, a graphic design suite; WonderGraphs (wondergraphs.com/google), an app for creating high-quality graphs and charts for reports and visual analysis; BrightPearl (brightpearl.com), Insightly (insight.ly) and Zoho CRM (zoho.com/crm/) for business CRM and MailChimp (mailchimp.com) for email campaigns.
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