For Richard J. Dalton Jr., a longtime user of academic tests, when Google told some small businesses in January that they wouldn’t be able to use customized email services and other workplace apps for free. Feels like the promise has been broken. -Preparatory company in Vancouver, British Columbia.
“They basically arm us strongly to switch to paid ones after getting hooked on this free service,” said Google’s work for his business, YourScoreBooster, in 2008. Dalton, who first set up the email for us, said.
According to Google, long-time users, including apps such as email, Docs, and Calendar, called the legacy free version of G Suite, need to start paying a monthly fee (usually around $ 6 per business email address). was. Businesses that do not voluntarily switch to paid services by June 27 Move automatically To one. If you do not pay by August 1, your account will be suspended.
The cost of paid services is more annoying than the big financial blow, but small business owners affected by the change say they were disappointed with the tedious way Google handled the process. They don’t feel that the multi-billion dollar profitable giants are squeezing the little guys who are part of the first companies to use Google’s apps for work for a small amount of money. I can’t.
Patrick Gant, owner of ThinkIt Creative, Ottawa’s marketing consultant, said: “It’s hard to feel sorry for someone who has been receiving something for free for a long time and is now being told they need to pay. But there was a promise. That’s my other option. That’s why I was forced to decide to use Google. “
Google’s decision to charge organizations that use the app for free is another example of looking for ways to withdraw more money from existing businesses. More commercials For YouTube videos. In recent years, Google has been more aggressive in selling software subscriptions to businesses, more directly competing with Microsoft, where Word and Excel programs dominate the market.
The first May 1st deadline has been postponed after many long-time users have complained about the change to paid services. Google also said that people using old accounts for personal reasons, not business reasons, can continue to do so for free.
However, some business owners said they had a hard time contacting customer support because they were considering paying Google or abandoning the service. As the deadline approaches, six small business owners who spoke to the New York Times criticized what they said was confusing and sometimes disrupting communication about service changes.
Samad Sajanlal, owner of Supreme Equipment Company, a software consulting and other technical services company in McKinney, Texas, said: “But don’t give us an unrealistic deadline and find an alternative while still deciding if you really want to kick us off in the first place.”
According to Google, the free version does not include customer support, but it does provide users with multiple ways to contact the company to assist in the migration.
Google released Gmail in 2004, and two years later it released business apps such as Docs and Sheets. Search giants were eager for start-ups, moms and pop shops to adopt their work software, so they could offer free services and allow businesses to introduce custom domains into Gmail that match their trade name. I did it.
It’s also while it’s still testing the app Said According to Google, the business software terms of service initially stated that the company may suspend or discontinue its offering in the future, but business owners say the product remains free for the rest of their lives. I am saying. Google suspended new free registrations in December 2012, but continued to support accounts for what became known as GSuite Legacy Free Edition.
In 2020, GSuite was rebranded as Google Workspace. The overwhelming majority of people (according to the company, with a total of over 3 billion users) are using the free version of Workspace. Over 7 million organizations or individuals are paying for versions with additional tools and customer support, up from 6 million in 2020. Thousands of users have been using the free legacy version for several years, said a person familiar with the tally. A person who asked for anonymity because the person was not allowed to disclose those numbers publicly.
“We’re here to help you with this transition, including big discounts on Google Workspace subscriptions,” Google spokeswoman Katie Wattie said in a statement. “Migrating to a Google Workspace subscription can be done with just a few clicks.”
Dalton, who is helping Canadian students enroll in American colleges, said Google’s forced upgrade came at a bad time. He said the coronavirus pandemic had a devastating impact on his business. Venue regularly canceled tests, some universities suspended test requirements, and fewer students were seeking preparatory services.
From April 2020 to March 2021, business revenue was almost halved. The following year’s sales fell another 20%. Things have begun to recover in the last few months, but your score booster is still lagging behind its pre-pandemic performance.
“At this point, I’m focused on recovering my business,” Dalton said. “The last thing I want to do is change the service.” So he asked 11 part-time employees to start using their personal email addresses at work, with the remaining two accounts most I upgraded to a cheaper version of Google Workspace.
Gant’s business is a single store and has been using Gmail for free since 2004. He said it wasn’t a matter of money. His problem was troublesome. He had to think about whether to continue using Google or find another option.
Gantt is still considering whether to move to Microsoft Outlook, Apple iCloud, ProtonMail, or stick to Google. He will decide what to do at the end of the month. Microsoft has spent $ 100 a year on him. Apple will cost $ 50 and ProtonMail will cost $ 160. Google will give him free for three months and then charge him the same amount as Apple for a year. The next year, Google’s price will double.
Sajanlal, the only employee of his business, signed up for Gmail’s business services in 2009. A few years later, he added his brother-in-law, Mesam Jiwani, to his GSuite account when he started his business. Its company, Fast Payment Systems, has helped small businesses in states such as Texas and New York process credit card payments since 2020.
When Sajanlal told Jiwani that Google would start charging for each email address, Jiwani said: Are they going to start tearing us apart? “
Jiwani said he was considering switching to software provider Zoho because he stored transaction data for 3,000 clients on Google Drive, but started paying for the company’s services. Sajanlal left Google in March to set up business email on a server hosted by Nextcloud.
Stian Oksavik, who has a side business called Beyond Bits in Loxahatchee, Florida and is setting up a computer network for clients, has moved to Apple’s iCloud service, which is already accessible as part of an existing subscription package.
“It wasn’t about the amount they charge, but about the fact that they changed the rules,” Oksavik said. “They could change the rules again at any time.”
