Tough day at the office
Google has launched what it calls its Apps Marketplace. Like mobile app stores, this allows third parties to write apps and market them through one portal. The difference is that these apps will all be compatible with Google Apps, as opposed to a specific mobile operating system.
Chris Vander Mey, a product Manager for Google Apps Marketplace, pontificated about how popular cloud computing is in a blog post. He conceded, however, that Google can't do everything (although it's giving it a good go) and that apps from different vendors often don't play nice with each other.
As Google Apps has always been a direct strike at the Microsoft Office market, this should be viewed as an extension of that - and a good one too. Office has such a massive install-base that it's not about to be toppled overnight, but by providing as much competition for it as possible, Google and its partners will continue to nibble away at the edges.
Many third parties already have apps available in the marketplace. The top-rated one is called RunMyProcess (does Google charge for spaces? - Ed) and it costs €30 per user per year. However, the most installed one is a collaboration tool called Manymoon, and it's free.
Here's the customary video explaining it:
