Google has so many different services – almost too many – that it is nearly impossible to keep track of them all. Gmail, Google Apps and a Google Account – what’s the difference?
Most people don’t even know they have multiple Google Accounts; in fact you may be using several different ones right now and not even know it. Perhaps you have one with @gmail.com at the end? Another with your domain associated with it (i.e. @backupify.com) and even another that is being forwarded from, say, Yahoo, to Gmail.
Don’t worry – you are not the only one who may be confused by the different Google Account types. They are constantly changing their product offerings and account types, so let’s clarify this a bit.
In a recent article published by Susan Cline, a Google Apps expert featured on TechRepublic’s Google in the Enterprise blog, the differences between these accounts is easily explained.
1. Gmail
A Gmail account is a free Google account with an email address ending in @gmail.com. Gmail accounts were first introduced in 2004 and have grown high in popularity due to it not only being free but having such a large storage limit. From a Gmail account, users can also access Google Docs, Google Calendar and Google Sites. Like all types of Google Accounts, a Gmail account is accessible anywhere at anytime since it is available via the Internet.
2. Google Account
To access a Google Account, all you need is to create a username and password to log into multiple Google applications including Docs, Sites, Maps, Search, etc. As Cline explains, “This is different than a Google Apps account. These accounts do not necessarily end with ‘@gmail.com.’ For example, a user can sign up for a Google Apps account that is associated with her @yahoo email address.” This way, a user can still have their primary email account through a different server but can also access features like Google Docs and Calendar without having to use Google Email. “Anyone can sign up for a free Google Account and use it to access and edit shared docs and files,” Cline continued.
3. Google Apps
A Google Apps account is different from a Google Account. A Google Apps account is associated with a specific domain (i.e. backupify.com). Users of this domain use a Google Apps account for internal messaging and collaboration to run the business. These accounts are typically used for small businesses, schools, government agencies and non-profits who need a low-cost, reliable collaboration tool within their organization. Google Apps accounts come with 7GB of email storage space along with access to Docs, Calendar and Sites.
4. Google Apps for Business
The best messaging and collaboration tool within Google for an enterprise is Google Apps for Business. These types of accounts allow users up to 25GB of storage for Gmail, Calendar, Docs, Video and Groups for business. Google guarantees businesses 99.9% up-time which is the standard up-time guarantee for reliable cloud services today.
There are many expert Google Apps resellers available to help businesses migrate from other email providers, such as Microsoft Office, to Google Apps. Google itself also offers migration tools to help businesses migrate old messages, calendar events, and contacts themselves.
Google Apps for Business is the only type of Google service that is not free, however. Relative to the costs of competing email and team collaboration tools, however, Google Apps is actually extremely practical in price. For only $50 per user per year, that equates to just $5 a month to use 25GB of space for email, docs, sites, contacts and calendar! Accompanied by email and phone support as well as reseller support, that’s not a bad deal at all.
Today, people have multiple types of Google Accounts. For me personally, I have one @gmail.com account, three Google Apps accouts and one Google Account that is forwarded from an old aol.com email address. How many do you believe you have?
Are there any other Google Apps based question on which you would like clarification? We would love to hear your questions and follow up with continuous blog posts addressing these common issues.
I want to personally thank Susan Cline for her great clarification of these four accounts on TechRepublic which can be found here.
