Google Apps no longer free for businesses

Google will start to charge small businesses for access to its web-based office software, including Gmail, as part of a drive to increase revenues outside its core web advertising business.

The internet giant said on Thursday in a blog post that small businesses with 10 or fewer users will, for the first time, have to pay to use its online app platform. All businesses will now be charged US$50 per user, per year, for the service.

Google Apps will remain free for individual users however, and existing business customers that currently use the free version will not be charged.

Clay Bavor, director of product management at Google Apps, wrote in a blog post: "Google Apps started with the simple idea that Gmail could help businesses and schools work better together without the hassles of managing software and servers."

"When we launched the premium business version we kept our free, basic version as well. Both businesses and individuals signed up for this version, but time has shown that in practice, the experience isn't quite right for either group. Businesses quickly outgrow the basic version and want things like 24/7 customer support and larger inboxes. Similarly, consumers often have to wait to get new features while we make them business-ready," Mr. Bavor added.

For new businesses customers, including small businesses,there will be just one apps package, which includes 24/7 phone support for any issue, a 25GB inbox, and a '99.9% uptime guarantee' with no scheduled downtime.

The Wall Street Journal reported that subscriptions to Google Apps and its mapping service for businesses and governments have brought $1 billion in revenue over the past year.

More than five million businesses are said to use Google Apps, but the overwhelming majority use the free version. The service - both free and paid - is said to be used by more than 40m users worldwide.