May 23rd, 2007
Google vs. Microsoft Office: Do you buy it?
Google declares Google Office victory I reported, AND DEBUNKED, yesterday!
In typically Googely fashion, Google is sending very mixed, and very incomplete, messages about the Microsoft Office killer, or not, Google Apps Premier.
Launched as a for (small) fee SaaS in February under the guise of a “free trial” through April, Google nevertheless pushed back the “for fee” drop dead date to May 31, just days before it was to have kicked in on the 30th of April.
What will happen next week, on June 1? Will Google Apps Premier “testers” see a $50 Google charge on their credit cards? I asked Kevin Gough, the Google Enterprise point man, just that last week.
“We will be announcing a Google Apps for fee plan very soon,” Gough told me.
Really? Yesterday would have been an opportune time, as Google patted itself on the back for “Getting it done with Google Apps,” while the “paid” clock nevetheless ticks down to May 31.
Google also missed an opportunity last week, when it “unveiled” Google Apps Partner Edition. As usual, Google was enthusiastic, but vague:
With Google Apps Partner Edition, you can:
- Decrease your operating costs
- Provide a better user experience for your subscribers
- Increase the amount of email storage for your subscribers
- Offer customers the very latest innovation from Google, on your domain
We designed Google Apps Partner Edition to meet the specific needs of service providers – affordably.
Nothing is quite as affordable as FREE!
Earlier today, I announced that Google is going the subsidy route to try and jumpstart its lackluster radio advertising efforts. Google Checkout has long been a subsidy-prone drain on the Google bottom line.
WHAT ABOUT GOOGLE APPS? WILL YOU SOON BUY IT?
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