Have Questions? Of Course You Do.

• Why should I switch my business to Google Apps for Business?

  We've listened to many businesses share what's important to them in building and growing a healthy business. What we've found is that businesses are looking for a low-cost, reliable, and secure messaging and collaboration solution that supports their business rather than challenges it.

  If your business finds itself identifying with some of these challenges, then you might be interested in considering the Google Apps solution for your business. Take a look at the business advantages of Google Apps other customers have found out for themselves.

  Business challenges:

  • Cost and resource-draining IT challenges, such as unreliable servers, setup and maintenance expenses, and operating a multi-OS environment
  • Small email inboxes
  • Virus attacks, Spam and phishing
  • Compliance to internal and external policies
  • Consumption of disk space
  • Inefficient sharing and collaboration

  How Google Apps solves these business challenges:

  • Dramatically lowers your total cost of ownership. No hidden maintenance or upgrade expenses - since Google hosts your data, we absorb those costs so that you don't have to.
  • Boost employee productivity with 25GB of storage per user - your employees can focus on their work rather than on their email quota.
  • Lean on our 99.9% service level agreement for email to make sure your business is up-and-running.
  • Share information, don't send it. Real-time document editing cuts down the hassle of sending email attachments and version confusion.
  • You're actually safer with Google Apps. Since your data is hosted on Google's reliable and redundant data centers, you can stop saving your corporate data on insecure devices, a leading cause of data security problems.
  • Better message control over what comes in and what goes out of your company with Google Apps' message security and administrative management controls.
  • Access anywhere, anytime you have an internet connection - whether on your mobile device, laptop, or computer in a multi-OS environment (PC, Mac, Linux).

• How does Google Apps work?

  Google Apps is a web-based hosted solution, which means you can access Google Apps at anytime, anywhere you have an Internet connection. You might hear this type of technology referred to as "software-as-a-service" or "cloud computing". "Cloud computing" or "software-as-a-service" is a computing model in which IT applications are provided "as a service', allowing users to access these applications from the Internet ("in the cloud") without needing to maintain the infrastructure that supports them. A simple way to understand the model is how people currently allow companies to run and manage their electricity rather than generating it within their home/office themselves.

  With Google Apps, your data and the applications themselves are served from Google's highly secure, scalable, and reliable data centers. Google actually builds its own data centers from scratch, so we're able to have one of the lowest cost-per-server infrastructures in the world; which means that those savings are passed on to our Google Apps customers. Your business is able to offload the infrastructure costs and the effort it takes to maintain an on-premises solution, and focus those savings on more strategic IT initiatives.

  And since Google Apps is web-based, your employees can be productive from anywhere, whether they're at their own desk, using a different computer, or on the go with a mobile device.

  

  

• How secure is my data and communication with Google Apps for Business?

  You can be confident your critical information is safe and secure with Google Apps. The information security team at Google includes some of the world’s top experts in information, network and application security. Their job is to keep your information safe.

  Google is trusted with mission critical data from some of the world’s top corporations. Their reputation is impeccable.

  Take a video tour of one of the secure data centres owned by Google to learn more:

  When you sign up for Google Apps, you will also have access to a number of customisable security features, including:

  • Custom spam and inbound mail filtering tools.
  • Custom information sharing rules to determine how broadly employees are allowed to share with Google Docs, Google Calendar and Google Sites.
  • Custom password length requirements and visual strength indicators to help employees pick secure passwords.
  • Enforced SSL connections to ensure secure HTTPS access.
  • Optional email archiving, with up to 10 years of retention.
  • Google undergoes regular third-party security reviews and SAS 70 audits. Data is stored in both a primary and backup data centre, so if there’s a problem with one, all your information will be safe.
  • And remember: Google doesn’t claim ownership of your data, doesn’t share your data, keeps it as long as you want and allows you to delete or move the data if you choose. Everything is safe and secure, but easy for you to access from anywhere, any device – at any time!

• What about other business needs like customer management, accounting and payroll? Can Google Apps help?

  Absolutely! Google Apps gives you access to a huge number of compatible, proven, enterprise-level applications through the Google Apps Marketplace. These applications can help you with a wide range of business tasks and activities, including marketing, accounting, project management, billing and more.

  Many of these applications will work seamlessly with Google Docs, Calendar, or Gmail, letting you work quickly and efficiently, staying organized every step of the way.

• What legacy systems can you migrate from?

  We know you don’t want to leave any information behind! Believe us – you don’t have to. HostPapa Expert Support is able to migrate data (including email, calendars and contacts) from the following legacy systems:

  • Microsoft Exchange
  • Lotus
  • Pop email
  • Groupwise
  • Any other IMAP messaging system
  • Many more!

• What’s the difference Google Apps and a free @gmail.com account?

  A free Google Gmail account is great – for personal use. It doesn’t contain the full range of tools you need to run your business and you’ll see distinctly non-professional advertisements on display

  Google Apps accounts, however, are designed with businesses in mind, providing users with the applications they need to succeed. Google Apps for Business lets you use your company name in your email address instead of Gmail, giving your company a more professional look from the get-go. You’ll also get enhanced business-oriented features such as increased access controls, conference room and resource sharing and increased storage quotas

• How To?

• I want to sign up for Google Apps for Business with my own domain name. Is this possible?

  Absolutely. This is one of the great benefits of Google Apps for Business. If you already have a company domain name, or need to create a new one, Google Apps can meet your needs.

  Each user at your domain will get a Google Apps account branded with your own domain name. Email addresses take the format "username@yourdomain.com."

• Does Google host websites too?

  Your Google Apps suite contains Google Sites, which is designed to make it easy for employees to create and collaborate on internal sites for their projects, teams and departments. If you wish, you can make a public website with Google Sites, but most businesses prefer to go with a traditional web hosting solution for their public sites.

• How difficult is it to set up Google Apps for Business?

  Setting up Google Apps through Cloud Decode couldn’t be easier. In fact, it’s as simple as 1, 2, 3!

  • Tell us how many Google Apps users you have
  • Select your setup and deployment options
  • Select your training and support options

  And that’s it! Contact us for more information now!

• Does Google Apps work with Microsoft Outlook and other clients?

  Google Apps can be set up to work with Outlook and other email clients. Many clients enjoy this application – and this way, employees can use the interface they know and love, but you have the security of Google at work behind the scenes. Your employees are happy and you get the savings and security benefits!

  Google Apps Sync for Microsoft® Outlook is a popular plug-in that enables your business to run Microsoft Outlook on Google Apps, instead of Microsoft Exchange.

  Cloud Decode will also help with syncing Google Apps with other clients, including Mozilla Thunderbird, Apple Mail and iCal. We’ll ensure you have all the information you need as you set up your Google Apps account.

• I have multiple companies with different domain names. Can I manage Google Apps for Business for them from one administrative account?

  Yes. As long as you own all of the domain names, no problem! Google Apps customers can associate up to 600 Internet domains with one Google Apps account.

  Although each domain will remain an independent entity, Google Apps will recognize them as part of one umbrella account or organization. All the domains will be administered using the same Google Apps administrator control panel. Even though each domain has a separate set of user accounts, users belonging to any of the domains can share calendars and documents.

• I have to send a lot of emails on a daily basis. Does Google Apps for Business impose a sending limit?

  Google Apps for Business has a generous sending limit of 2,000 emails a day. This guideline is in place to prevent abuse and to help fight spam. If you reach this limit, your account will be unable to send mail temporarily.

• Does Google Apps for Business work with BlackBerry devices, the iPhone and other mobile phones?

  Yes! A key benefit of Google Apps for Business is its anywhere, any time accessibility. To meet that goal, your files and communications will be accessible from a variety of mobile phones, including BlackBerry devices, iPhones, Windows Mobile and many others.

• My company needs to comply with federal regulations. (e.g. HIPAA/FERPA). Is Google Apps compliant?

  Google's security and compliance services, powered by Postini, offer capabilities that many businesses use to satisfy their compliance requirements with a variety of regulations, such as HIPAA/FERPA, among others. Generally, an organization must decide whether its use of our products is compliant with any regulations the company may be subject to.

• How do I transfer my existing files, emails and contacts to Google Apps?

  We can take care of securely migrating all your data from your legacy system – such as Microsoft or Lotus – to Google, so you’re up and running in no time! Cloud Decode will also help you with specific content, such as calendars, Exchange objects, Lotus workflows, web applications and more.

• It sounds good, but I'm going to need some extra help. What should I do?

  Don’t worry! You can get all the help you need from us. At Cloud Decode we will guide you through the setup and deployment of your Google Apps solution, even helping with data migration and setting up mobile devices. Once you’re all set up, we’ll still be here!

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  For more information, please contact us.