In this global environment where most businesses and corporates have teams spread world-wide, having a team portal where you can add, edit and share your ideas and information is extremely important. Lots of people have been using Sharepoint for this purpose, but Google throws an addition to its Enterprise Management offerings by launching Google Sites! Check out the key features with which it plans to attract an audience.Google today introduced Google Sites, an application that makes creating a team web site as easy as editing a document. With Google Sites, people can quickly gather a variety of information in one place – including videos, calendars, presentations, attachments, and text – and easily share it for viewing or editing with a small group, their entire organization, or the world. With Google Sites, anyone can create an entirely customized site in minutes and invite others to contribute. its like adding an "edit" button to the web. It is based on JotSpot technology and is available in the Team, Standard, Premier, and Education Editions of Google Apps.
Creating and editing a set of pages requires no knowledge of HTML or web design skills. People can start a new page with one click. Adding content is as easy as clicking the edit button. Sharing is as simple as sending an invitation. All content is instantly searchable, and Google Sites is accessible through any web browser.
Anyone inside an organization can begin using Google Sites by signing up for Google Apps communication and collaboration services through Team Edition. After verifying their business or school email address, people can instantly invite others to join, or easily identify people within their organization already using Google Apps.
Some basic implementations with Google Sites include:
- An intranet to centralize company information
- A team site to manage a project
- A profile site including an individual's resume, areas of expertise, and goals
- A virtual classroom to post homework assignments, class notes and other resources.
Google Sites is secure and scalable, and maintains a version history. It requires no hardware or software to buy, install, or maintain. Additional features include embed content from other Google products, upload files of any type and customize a site's look and feel.
With Google Sites, the giant is entering an arena that is already dominated by a few. And yet, bundling up all the office apps has been Google's dream for quite some time, and also an answer to Microsoft's Office. I'm surely going to try this and see for myself. It sure looks easy, just like the rest of the Google services, and it also combined all the services in one neat little page! Try it yourself and come back to share your experience!
