Just like you buy “applications” from the iTunes store and add them to your iPhone, everyone can now buy readymade “cloud applications” from the Google Apps Marketplace and install them to their Google Apps’ accounts.
Google Apps Marketplace, like the iTunes store, includes a mix of free and paid web applications but there’s one difference – you only pay once for installing an iPhone app but Google Applications are generally subscription based so you pay as you use.
You can explore the Google Apps market at google.com/appsmarketplace. Then watch the video to know how you can easily add “apps” to your own Google Apps account.
Is the Google Apps Marketplace only for Businesses?
If you read the official announcements and the press releases from Google, you’ll get an impression that the Apps Marketplace is primarily for businesses and large companies who have shifted to Google Apps.
That’s true but the Google Apps Marketplace is equally appealing to individuals like you and me who are not businesses but simply use the Standard Edition (free version) of Google Apps to manage their web domains, emails and calendars online.
Let me explain. When you add an application to your Google Apps account (say your install Aviary for editing photos), you can quickly access that app from any other Google service (like Gmail or Google Docs) through the drop-down menu in the Google Bar (see screenshot).
The big advantage here is that when you switch to an app from the Google menu, you can start using that app directly without having to log-in.
If you are logged into one Google service, you are automatically logged into all the other Google Applications that are attached to your Google Apps account. This can be such a time-saver.
The Best Web Applications for your Google Apps
Here are some useful applications from the Google Apps Marketplace that have a free version and you can consider them installing to your Google Apps account.
1. ManyMoon – This is an online project management software that is free and will integrate with Google Calendar as well as your Google Docs storage – see review of ManyMoon.
2. Aviary – This like adding a stripped version of Photoshop to your Google Apps. With Aviary, you can not only created and edit photos online but the app also has an audio editor for recording / editing podcasts and music. Aviary will save your file into a designated Google Docs folder.
3. Offisync – With Offisync, you can edit Google Documents right inside your Microsoft Office programs. It can also save documents from the desktop to your online account right within Office – see review of Offisync.
4. Zoho Projects – This is a more mature web-based project management app for Google Apps that also includes a wiki. Its a premium app but you can create one project for free – see more project management apps.
5. Google Short Links – If you don’t want to use bit.ly or tinyurl.com for shortening URLs, use the Short Links app from Google. It lets you setup your own redirection service on your personal Google Apps domain.
6. Spanning Backup – If you ever wish to backup your Google data (like documents, calendar and contacts) to the cloud, this app will come handy.
7. Time Report – This will add timesheet related features to Google Calendar so you track the time spent on various activities.
8. SlideRocket – Not happy with the presentations module of Google Docs? Try SlideRocket, this is one of the best online presentation apps on the Internet today.
9. Mail Chimp – Gmail has a strict daily sending limit so if you want to send bulk emails from Gmail account, use MailChimp – the service is free for lists up to 500 emails.
10. Survey Monkey – You can use the build-in Google Docs for Surveys but it you want something more personalized and customizable, try Survey Monkey – the basic version is free.
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