The Google Apps setup wizard promises Google Apps setup takes less than an hour. Don't believe it though – setting up Gmail alone took me most of an hour. And there are some Apps that as of this writing, two weeks after the start of my free trial, that I still haven't been able to get set up and operational, despite repeated attempts.
Background
On October 7, 2011, I signed up for a free trial to use Google Business Apps with the intent of seeing how it worked for my small business and writing a series of articles on my experience setting up and using Google Apps.
I believe that small businesses can greatly benefit from the convenience and cost savings that cloud computing can provide and thought that using Google Apps would be a logical place for a small business interested in getting into cloud computing to start.
A Summary of My Progress: Poor.
This is two weeks later and although I have not been carefully logging my time attempting to set up and use Google Business Apps, I have invested a minimum of two hours each week day so I have at least twenty hours invested in the process and still have not completed set up.
I have successfully set up Google Users and Groups, Talk, Calendar, and Docs.
I had Gmail set up and working at first, but then I decided I wanted the security of using Postini with my email and descended into a flaming pit of mx records from which I am yet to emerge.
I have repeatedly tried to access/set up Google Video, only to be repeatedly informed that this service is not available to me – although this is one of the few services exclusive to Google Business Apps (as opposed to the free version of Google Apps).
I am told that
"Video is not available for (your domain). Learn more about Google products you can use.
If you are the Google Apps administrator, please read these articles to learn more about controlling user access to Google Apps services and turning services on/off for certain users.
Did you use this product with a different Google Account? Sign out of your current Google Account and then sign in to the account you want."
Although I investigated every one of these links, none of the pro-offered information solved the problem.
Google Voice is a lost cause for me because it's only available in the U.S.
My grade for Google Apps for Business Setup – Another D. Like I said about Google registration, you shouldn't have to be a techie to get through this process. And it certainly shouldn't suck up hours and hours of your time.
Note that this is not an evaluation of the apps themselves – just of the procedure for setting them up for use. Nor is this intended to suggest that using Google Business Apps is not worthwhile for small businesses. It does indicate, though, that unless you are in the IT business yourself or have an IT person on site, you may wish to hire someone to set up Google Business Apps for you.
My notes made as I worked through Google Set Up using the Google Apps set up wizard follow; this article covers how to set up Google Users & Groups.
Google Apps Setup Notes
Setup consists of working through a series of steps that are listed in the menu on the left (and checked off when you complete them). At any point, you can go back to a previous screen if you like, an option I appreciate.
How to Set Up Users and Groups
The first thing you have to do is set up users and groups. This is, in my experience, the good part of setting up Google Business Apps, the part that was quick and easy to set up and operates as advertised.
Set up is straightforward. First, choose 'Users and groups' from the vertical menu on the left side of the Google Apps set wizard screen. This brings up a screen offering single or multiple user options. If anyone other than you will be using your Google Apps for Business, you will choose the multiple users box and proceed to a screen where you will add users, as each person in your business who will be using Google Apps will need his or her own user account.
While you're on this screen, you can also choose:
- to set up Google Groups, to use as mailing lists, user forums and collaboration channels,
- to create mail aliases, if you or any of the other users want to receive email at more than one address, or
- to announce that you're using Google Apps, to help users make the transition.
If, on the other hand, you'll be the only user of Google Business Apps, choose the "No, it's just me" option.
Even though I don't have any employees at this moment, I selected the Groups option for testing purposes, and then chose the 'Select All' option, which took me to a page asking if I wanted to create users one-by-one using a web form or in bulk by uploading a CSV file. As I was planning to only create a few dummy users as a trial, I opted for one-by-one in a web form (which was especially appealing as this option had 'Easiest' in bold lettering stamped next to it).
However, this turned out to be a lie, as what I got next was an error message telling me that I could not do this at this time (error # 1000) – causing me to abandon my efforts to set up Google Apps for Business for about the tenth time.
When I next returned to my attempt to set up Google Business Apps (an hour or so later), I was able to continue to a screen for adding users one-by-one. I created two additional user accounts. I also created an email alias (nickname) for one of those users.
This enabled me to set up Google Groups, which according to the Google Apps setup wizard can be used as a mailing list, to share a document, site or calendar, as a shared mailbox where members can send messages using the group’s address, or as a user forum where members can hold online discussions.
Administrator versus User-Managed Google Groups
Google groups can be set up as administrator-managed or user-managed groups. (User-managed groups are only available in the Business or Education edition of Google Apps.)
The difference between the two is in the names; in user-managed groups, users can manage their own memberships (although you, the administrator, can set controls on who can create, access and post to groups).
The catch is that all your groups have to be of one type or the other – you can't have a mixed collection. As the Google Apps setup wizard said that switching later was easy, I picked the option that was marked as 'Easiest', Administrator-managed groups.
(Note that groups are not closed to people outside your company; people outside your business can also send messages to groups if that's the way you have a particular group set up.)
Setting up Administrative-managed groups is easy. Just select 'Groups' on the blue banner menu at the top of the Google Apps setup wizard, and then click on 'Create a new group'. On the form that comes up, enter your group's name, group email address, a brief description if you like and then set the group’s Access Level – Team, Announcement-only or Restricted.
As you would guess, Team access is the broadest, allowing anyone in your company to post messages and view the members list. Conveniently, there is an option to place all of the users in your domain into the group at once if you wish.
I created a group called Shining Stars with a group email address of shiningstars@mydomain.com.
Once you have created your group, it will appear listed when you select 'Groups' from the top blue banner. Clicking on the group's name will take you to a page where you can change the group information, add or remove members, or change the members' roles and permissions.
The last step in setting up users and groups is to send user announcements (if you opted to do this earlier in the Google Apps setup wizard). Return to 'Setup' to do this; you will see that you have a choice of sending an email or posting a doc on your intranet. In my case, I chose to post a Doc, but it didn’t come up for me; instead, I got a page announcing that "Google Docs has encountered a server error. However, I was able to successfully reload the page, an Intranet Announcement to Company Template which you can customize to fit your small business's circumstances.
You can find more email and other templates to announce at Google's Apps Deployment Site. You may also wish to visit their Information on using Google Groups page.
Next Steps
Next up is the Set up your Apps screen. You'll notice that the menu on the left side has opened to reveal a list of applications: Google Gmail, Calendar, Docs, Sites, and two that are "exclusive" to your Google Business Apps account, Postini Message Security and Google Video for Business.
I chose to start by setting up Gmail. How to Set Up Gmail for Google Business Apps tells what I learned as I went through the process and explains how you can do it a lot more quickly and easily than I did.
