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Google Apps has been a great place to access basic applications such as programs for sharing documents, calendars, and of course, email. But it has been a work-in-progress in terms of getting full featured business applications.
That appears to be quickly changing. In recent months the Google Apps Marketplace cloud service has been bulking up on new business applications which will increasingly make it a serious option for small to mid-range enterprises.
A case in point is the announcement this past week that Concur, a leading supplier of on-demand travel and expense management software, had launched an offering on the Google Apps platform. The application, called Concur Breeze, is designed for smaller businesses – with 50 employees or less – but offers many of the same features of Concur’s main platform.
“Concur Breeze is designed to specifically address the unique needs of small businesses looking to streamline their operations and improve efficiency with an automated expense reporting process,” Elena Donio, Concur’s executive vice president for emerging businesses, said in a statement.
Of course, customers could go directly to Concur to receive an on-demand version of its software, but Concur obviously sees appeal in the Google Apps Marketplace. It may attract businesses which initially feel they are too small or can’t afford commercial software, but which over time could graduate to the more full-featured applications.
The Redmond, Wash.-based company is positioning the software as a low-cost option for businesses to automate the review and approval of business expenses, such as travel, office supplies purchases, advertising, shipping and telecommunications needs. The application is initially being made available free on a 30-day trial period. Afterwards, Concur will charge $8 per month, per user.
“We have always known that small businesses had a challenge with expense reporting. But we also acknowledged that they needed something built specifically for their needs – extremely simple to use, quick to setup and easy to try out before buying,” Concur President Rajeev Singh said in a blog on the company’s site.
It will be interesting to see how the Google Apps venture works for Concur. The company is publicly traded, so it may share some insights over time. For now, however, it seems to be doing just fine on its own.
Its revenues have grown from $129 million in 2007, to $215 million in 2008, and $248 million in 2009. For the most part, software on demand companies like Concur and Salesforce.com seem to have weathered the recession just fine.
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