Google Apps Team Edition is a free service that lets people within the same e-mail domain collaborate easily with Google Apps, a package that includes Docs, Calendar, Talk and Start Page.
Unlike instant-messaging (IM) applications, which allow communication with anyone on the Web using a compatible IM app, Google Apps Team Edition lets people share only with others in the same organisation.
Google's standalone hosted apps for consumers have not really made a splash in the corporate world. This is largely because of potential security threats as a result of the ease with which sensitive work data can be shared with people outside the company. This prompted Google to create the Google Apps suite in a free Standard Edition and a paid-for Premier Edition.
These editions give an administrator control over how the apps are used, allowing for services to be disabled, new services like Gmail to be added, and integration with apps for things like single sign-on. Google offers security and government regulation compliance services for those editions through its Postini acquisition.
"People are already using the consumer [hosted Google] apps in the workplace, like they did IM a decade ago," said Jeremy Milo, senior marketing manager for Google Apps. "We're trying to bring more security by introducing the notion of domain awareness."
The Team Edition offers a compromise for workers who want to use the apps in a company that is not already using Google Apps, or a company that lacks an IT administrator. An administrator can always step in and switch from Team Edition to Standard or Premier if desired, and a new domain can be acquired through the Standard Edition for US$10 for those who need a uniform e-mail domain.
With Team Edition, anyone can open an account and start using the apps with anyone within the organisation. For instance, a group working on a team project could use Google Apps Team Edition and be able to access the shared documents from any computer over the Internet.
Google Apps Team Edition is "another on-ramp" to Web-hosted apps, Milo said. "They are one more way for businesses to get comfortable with computing in the cloud and anywhere/any time access to critical information."
