posted Dec 10, 2009, 3:46 PM by Rick Anderson
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updated Dec 10, 2009, 11:16 PM
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Premier and Educational users of Google Apps just received a big update to team empowerment today with Google Groups for Google Apps. Site administrators have been able to create groups, but that can be overbearing for site admins. Starting today, anyone can create a group, invite others into the group, and collaborate as a team! This is great news and the benefits as described by Google:
The following Google Groups features are now included in Google Apps Premier and Education Editions:
Fast set-up. Employees and students can now create collaborative groups instantly without burdening IT, and manage the group settings to fit their needs.
Searchable archives. Group discussions are archived by default, allowing users to easily search and view past and present discussions via the web.
Sharing with a group. Once a group is set up, employees and students can easily share a document, spreadsheet, presentation, shared folder, site, calendar, or video with that group. No need to type in individual email address manually, or remember who joined or left the group. Plus, the shared items will only be accessible by the appropriate people, even as people join and leave the group.
Reply on behalf of a group. In addition to communicating via email or the web interface, the new functionality lets group managers send a message on behalf of a group.
IT capabilities. IT administrators still manage if and how users can create groups from the administrative control panel.
Google has also put together a nice two minute video regarding the new feature - check it out...
