Google+ Gets Fresh Business Features And Extra App

Google Apps users are set to benefit from a host of new features for Google+, many of which are aimed at integrating services and adding security, as well as a special mobile app for enterprise users.

Google has opened full preview for Apps customers for “an initial set of Google+ features”, which includes private sharing. That addition allows users to put controls over who can see posts on the social network. Administrators will now be able to place default restrictions on posts.

Videoconferencing sessions over Hangouts can now be organised and entered via Google Calendar.

New Google+ app

“These latest business features for Google+, which will be rolling out throughout the day, are just a start. We have a lot more planned for the coming months, including a mobile version of Google+ for enterprise users and more administrative controls,” said Clay Bavor, product management director for Google Apps, in a blog post.

“During this preview period, organizations that have gone Google will be able to use the business features of Google+ for free through the end of 2013 while we continue to add more features and administrative controls designed for organisations.”

Google+ is crikticised in some quarters, but is proving to be a popular platform for businesses according to others. At the LeWeb 2012 conference held in London earlier this year, Bonin Bough, vice president of global digital and consumer engagement at Kraft Foods, told TechWeekEurope he thought Google+ was a fantastic place for businesses to promote themselves.

“We see it as a unique opportunity for brands,” Bough said, noting that Kraft is the biggest brand in terms of +1s on Google’s social network. “The Google ecosystem is a huge ecosystem for building brand building.”

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