New Delhi, May 23 (KNN)  To ensure that more small and medium units in India can afford to use online business applications to succeed and grow, Google has slashed rates.

“To make it even easier for Indian SMBs to work in the cloud, we’re now making Google Apps for Business more affordable,” said Product Manager, Google Apps for Business, Judy Chang in a company blog post.

New and existing customers based in India will now have to pay Rs 150 per user per month if they’re on the flexible plan and Rs 1500 per user per year on the annual plan.

The 45 per cent price reduction by the internet search giant in Google Apps for Business includes solutions such as Google Drive, Docs, Sheets and Slides.

The move which came after Google discontinued its free version of software suite for organisations with up to 10 employees is also intended to stem growing competition from players such as Zoho Corp, Salesforce, etc.

Commenting on Google’s effort to help small business in India to move to the cloud, “India is home to around 47 million small businesses, yet only 1 per cent — around 500,000 — are online. The Internet not only provides small and medium businesses (SMBs) with a way to promote their services through websites or digital advertising, it also gives them access to secure and flexible cloud based communication and collaboration tools like Google Apps for Business,” she said.

Meanwhile, according to media reports, Zoho Corp is attempting to woo small units through better marketing and free plans.  The company recently revamped its pricing plan for Zoho Mail, making it free for up to 5 users now.

Google Apps offers easy solutions for web mail, calendars, cloud storage, and video meetings through Google’s consumer products, Gmail, Calendar, Drive, Docs, and Hangouts. These tools work together seamlessly and all that’s needed to get up and running is an Internet-connected device, Chang said.

The business-ready package of communication and collaboration tools allows companies to securely access all their data and services from a mobile phone. 

Further, with a 99.9 per cent availability guarantee, zero scheduled downtime and 24/7 support, Google Apps, she said, offers businesses security and support while removing the need to manage hardware, security updates or software patches.

Best of all Gmail, Calendar, Drive, Docs and Slides now also work offline too.

Other programmes designed by Google to help small units in India include ‘India Get Your Business Online,’ Women Entrepreneurs on the Web’ and ‘Google Business Groups.’ (KNN)