Google+ access coming to Google Apps, eventually
The search titan is working to bring its new social-networking service to Google Apps users, but it's short on specifics about how and when it plans to get that done.
Good news for Google Apps users: your pleas to get access to Google+, the search titan's latest foray into social networking, have been heard.
In a public-facing note on the service yesterday, Google's president of enterprise, Dave Girouard, said that the company is working to make Google+ available to Google Apps users. Google Apps is Google's customizable version of the company's various productivity services including Gmail, Calendar, Talk, Docs and Groups.
"Sorry for the delay," Girouard wrote. "We need to do it right!"
No estimate was given for how long it will be until that happens, nor was any insight offered on how Google plans to handle sharing in what could be a company's private network with public circles.
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The news, which was picked up by Pocket Lint this morning, comes as Google is expanding the size of the new social-networking service to let more users in the door. Earlier this week the company opened up invites to existing users to effectively double the population by adding outsiders.
Google+ waslaunched late last month as part of a "field trial period", and continues to be a closed service unless you have an invite, or sign up to eventually get access. The service has drawn many comparisons to Facebook and even Twitter in offering users a place to share and view content in a stream with others with whom they've made connections. Google has built it up with tie-ins to a number of its other services and technologies like Gmail, Picasa, YouTube and Google Talk.
While the service was launched with mainly a consumer focus, there has been pent-up demand for Google to offer it to businesses both to use internally and to have public-facing pages akin to Facebook pages. Earlier this week, Google product manager Christian Oestlian (on whose Google+ page Girouard's announcement was posted), said the company was working on making adjustments to help out those "non-user entities" make less user-centric profiles. Actually allowing those businesses, if they're Google Apps users, into it is the next logical step.
Update at 5:01 p.m. PT: Reader Brad Wells points out that a handful of Google employees have made mention of bringing Google+ features to Google Apps users in various Google Groups threads.