Google Apps work wonders for small businesses

One of the many hurdles aspiring vetrepreneurs face when starting a business is the enormous cost of new technologies. The costs of operating systems, suites of applications and Web site addresses, have all become an imperative consideration when beginning a business from scratch. NaVOBA member Crisantos Hajibrahim, owner of Virus Woman, an information technology service provider, has a quick, easy way to clear that hurdle: Google Apps.

"My company started using Google Apps because we didn't have any money," Hahibrahim explained. "I was at a conference in New York and heard about it. My company was using it when it was raw and not a lot of people had heard of it. But using Google Apps helped us grow to what we've become today."

Virus Woman is the second highest-rated small business provider in the world, according to Hajibrahim. In addition, Hajibrahim's company is the only veteran-owned company that sells Google Apps, and Virus Woman is also only one of two American-owned companies that deal the money-saving service. And according to Hajibrahim, none of the company's success would have been possible without the use of Google's latest offering into the world of applications.

"They essentially allow you to run a business for free," Hajibrahim said. "Where you would have to spend thousands of dollars on other programs, Google Apps provides all of those same things without any charge. Calendars, Maps, Spreadsheets - they offer everything a business owner could want."

THE LOS ANGELES FACTOR
Arguably the most important step for Google Apps came recently when the city of Los Angeles voted 12-0 to adopt the usage of the technology throughout the city. L.A. joined the District of Columbia in becoming two of the largest government adoptions Google Apps has seen.

Critics of the technology say that the security in which the Apps work on is in question. Some security experts and government officials - including some initial skeptics on Los Angeles' city council, who were eventually swayed - have their reservations about outsourcing the storage of classified data, among other things. Hajibrahim is aware of these concerns, though insists all security questions have been addressed and dealt with properly.

"Some people have doubts about it being secure, but if the city of Los Angeles decided to move forward with it (Google Apps), then you know it has to be doing something right," he said. "Using Google Apps is more cost effective and you don't have to worry about any physical hardware on your machine.”

MOVING FORWARD
As for the future of Google Apps, Hajibrahim - who won the AFLAC Entrepreneur of the Year Award three years ago with what he cited as the enormous help of Google Apps while starting his company five years ago - is certain more and more businesses and government officials will begin to use Google Apps in the near future.

"Even if you start with nothing, Google Apps allows you start a business essentially for free," he said. "Think about it. If you aren't on Google, no one will be able to find you. If you don't try to build off Google, chances are you'll loose. We are at the point now that we can't even hire anybody because we don't have the time to train them. Currently, 3,000 businesses sign up for this a day. I think even more people are going to catch this wave soon."

BENEFITS OF GOOGLE APPS

- Helps Gain Worldwide Exposure

- Greatly Expands Customer Base

- Lowers Operational Costs

- Grows Sales Exponentially

- Provides Enhanced Professional Image

- 4 out of the 5 Services are FREE

GOOGLE MANAGED SERVICES COMPONENTS

- Google Apps (Free)

- Google Analytics (Free)

- Google Adwords (Paid)

- YouTube (Free)

- Zoho CRM (Google Apps Compatible - Free)

SOFTWARE AVAILABLE

Aside from email, calendaring and contacts, Google Apps gives you:

- Word Processing

- Spreadsheet Program

- Presentation Software

All of these applications are built from the ground up to be about collaboration and sharing, as well as platform independence.

KEY COMPONENTS OF GOOGLE APPS

Google Apps gives organizations critical tools like:

- Email:

            -Email has long been the most widely used Internet application. For some people, it is also their most frequent form of communication.

- Calendaring:

            -98% of all homes and virtually 100% of all businesses use calendars

- Instant Messaging: Chat online anytime, anywhere

-All of these features are Web-based and accessible from any computer, anywhere in the world

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