The new office

Specifying Permitted Apps

Once the users are added, accounts are migrated, and custom settings are determined, you can turn to the apps and their settings. Google currently offers seven apps and 14 additional services. You can expand this selection if required with apps from the Marketplace.

First, however, you need to determine which apps users can use with what limitations in the future (Figure 2). Drive, Gmail, Google Talk/Hangouts, Calendar, Contacts, Mobile, and Sites are all in Google's product range. You can see the uses and purpose of all the apps on the app overview page. Each app has different settings and is enabled by default for each user. You can adapt the apps to your needs using the apps setup wizard.

Figure 2: Standard apps can be completely hidden for the organization.

Open the wizard by clicking Setup at the top right of the menu. Next, open Set up your apps in the left menu and determine which of the four wizards you want to use for Gmail, Drive and Docs, and Calendar. Click all apps, for example, and then the Next button. You will receive individual steps that you can either execute directly or skip and do later. In Gmail, you also have the option to Run a pilot program at this point, which involves testing Gmail with several users without switching the complete domain. You can also allow the further use of email clients such as Outlook so that users don't have to change their usual office environment (Figure 3).

Figure 3: You can continue to use your usual email client (Outlook, here). The setup wizard helps set up the apps.

Limited Access Control

To set up apps' permissions for users, switch to Apps | Google Apps and select the app for which you want to restrict access. Unfortunately, it isn't possible to completely enable or disable the app for the organization at this point. Granular access permissions for users or groups are not provided.

You can completely enable or disable the app for your organization in Authorization . Depending on the app, it is also possible to restrict usage. With Drive, for example, you can determine whether your organization's users are allow to share things with people who are not members of the organization. Or, you can determine which user email address the system shows to other users for the Contacts app.

Additional Google Services

To set up the free Google services centrally within the company, you use Apps | Additional Google services . You will receive a list of, currently, 14 other services. Google Analytics and Google Groups, for example, are of interest to a company. You can disable access with your company ID to other services such as Picasa or Blogger at this point. Just select one of the services and click Off on the right in the menu.

Google Marketplace makes more applications available to users. This is also a well-known marketplace from Android, which third parties use to offer additional applications. Just switch to Marketplace apps under Apps and click the + symbol at the top right. The Marketplace opens, and you can filter the range of products by category. Click an app and then the Install app button. Next, confirm the installation and the rights to be granted with Accept . The app will be available shortly afterward as a Marketplace app. Here (to the right of the app), you also can share the app either with everyone or no one within your organization. Most apps still require an account or other settings from the app provider, and additional charges may apply.