Google Apps for Business, Now a Paid Service

If you’re an enterprise with more than 10 users, and looked forward to using Google’s free app services made available to you all this while, will have to forego that thought from now on. The search giant has on its enterprise blog, mentioned that enterprises with over 10 users will have to avail for their paid service i.e. Google Apps for Business. This new rule will come to effect from May 10, 2011.

Enterprising, really?

The existing users of Google’s app services will remain aloof from the payments, and can expand their user base up to 50 without additional charges. The groups will less than 10 users will continue to enjoy free app services by the search giant. The new charges include a US$50 per-user annual plan, or users could pick a no-contract US$5 per-user, per-month “flexible plan”.

The service will be billed by Google at the end of every month and is currently being offered as direct debit in 8 countries - the US, the UK, Austria, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain. An enterprising brand otherwise, this move by Google was triggered post disappointing shares figures that it put up on the board. It is now concentrating on simplifying the setup wizard of the business app services which should be, according to the blog post, up and running soon.