Google India bets big on small businesses moving to the cloud
Google wants more Indian small and medium enterprises to come online and leverage the Internet to grow.
In a bid to encourage the Indian businesses to leverage cloud technology, Google India has announced a 45 percent reduction on pricing for its Google Apps for Business. After the price cut, new and existing customers will have to shell out Rs. 150 per month if they are on a flexible plan, and Rs. 1,500 per user per year on the annual plan.
Google Apps suite for businesses include solutions web mail, calendars, cloud storage, and video meetings through Google’s consumer products, Gmail, Calendar, Drive, Docs, and Hangouts. The services are available across mobile platforms and devices.
Ricky Kapur, Director of Enterprise Sales, Asia says, “India is home to around 47 million small businesses, yet only 1% of these businesses are online. We hope that by making Google Apps more affordable, more small businesses in India will be able to move to the cloud and access a business-ready package of communication and collaboration tools.”
With a 99.9% availability guarantee, zero scheduled downtime and 24/7 support, Google Apps, offers businesses security and support while removing the need to manage hardware, security updates or software patches. Gmail, Calendar, Drive, Docs and Slides now also work well offline.
Many businesses in India are already experiencing the benefits of working in the cloud with Google Apps. As Karan Doshi, IT commercial head and project manager, Nilkamal explains “The move has resulted in productive work, rather than server maintenance. With Google Apps, we have a feature-rich solution that comes with the added benefits of improved reliability and reduced IT maintenance and costs”.
Vishwajeet Singh, Chief Intelligence Officer, Epitome Travel Solutions is another customer and says, “The best part of switching to Google Apps is that when I’m travelling, I can easily communicate with my colleagues by going online. That is not only saving on the costs of having to call overseas but also provides great ease when you know that you’re able to connect with people when you’re out of the office.”
It’s notable Google is already running various programmes such as India Get Your Business Online, Women Entrepreneurs on the Web and Google Business Groups in the country to encourage small businesses to come online and use the Internet to grow.