As Google looks to assure potential business customers that its cloud-based suite of applications is a worthy alternative to on-premises solutions, it's getting help from independent service providers.

One example is Backupify, an online backup, archiving and export service that unveiled support for Google Apps this week.

Cambridge, MA-based Backupify said it automatically backs up all data stored in a user's Gmail, Google Docs, Google Calendar, Google Contacts and Google Sites account. Google's (NASDAQ: GOOG) cloud-based system stores users files, but Backupify said its system ensures data won't be lost by error. Backupify actually leverages another cloud service, Amazon's storage cloud storage, to backup files.

Google says 9 of the top 20 requests from Apps customers are for their accounts to work with more services from Google. Currently, Apps works with Gmail, Docs, Chat, Groups, Video and Calendar. Later this year, Google will roll out functionality with Apps for Picasa, Google Reader, AdWords, News, Finance, and other products. Users won’t need to switch between their personal and work account to interact with these products from within the Apps interface.

Google says that all “Standard, Premier and Education Edition customers will be moved to the new infrastructure that enables this change in the fall, and customers who would like more control over the timing of this change will be able to make the switch voluntarily during the summer.”

This is a huge bonus for the functionality of Google Apps considering the popularity of the applications that it will be integrating. It certainly ups the ante in the ongoing Microsoft-Google productivity suite wars.

Microsoft has lifted the curtain on a new online project which allows Facebook users to access a spin-off from Office Web Apps called Microsoft Docs. Those who use SkyDrive will already be aware of the integrated Windows Live support that Office Web Apps allows, but today announces the Facebook-friendly version.

Suffice to say, with Microsoft sharing a slimmed down, online and free version of the world’s most popular office suite, only to network and connect with the world’s largest social network, has in effect killed Google Docs. I for one will not be shedding a tear.

Google has announced a series of updates to Google Docs which are sure to please everyone who relies on the free cloud-based service. The documents editor received additions such as a margin ruler, tab stops, comments, a re-worked system for placing and maintaining bullets and numbers and support for real-time collaboration of up to 50 people. Spreadsheets now allows for cells to be edited from the forumla bar, the use of auto-fill and the dragging and dropping of columns. Overall, everything is said to be much faster, smoother and intuitive. There’s a whole bunch of other changes we haven’t gone over, so why not hit up the jump to watch a quick little into video and then explore the service for yourself? We’re loving the realtime collaboration improvements.

Deploying Google’s Gmail for my internet marketing business has allowed minimal and secure IT administration of my 8 websites (28+ email accounts). Supporting a mixed operating environment which includes Microsoft, Ubuntu and MacOS, multiple browsers, and document file formats from Microsoft Office, Open Office is made possible and easier with an in-the-cloud computing environment like Gmail.

So why would you consider cloud computing like Google Mail for your business, especially an SME (small medium enterprise)?

In a two words – security and compliance. E-mail security, web security and message compliance are the underlying benefits to solid business reasons to have your mail and office documents served through Gmail.

Google Friday reportedly shelled out somewhere between $25 million and $30 million for DocVerse, the almost three-year-old start-up that was obviously born to go to Google. TechCrunch expected the deal to close in December.

DocVerse will let Google Apps users share, edit, collaborate on and save offline-created Microsoft Word, PowerPoint and Excel documents in the cloud. It syncs the online and offline documents so all modifications are in parallel and allows users to make running comments.

Google Apps needs such widgetry, although users sometimes complain of it being dicey, if it hopes to strike a more even balance between its two million business users and Microsoft's 500 million-600 million Office users.

Google has responded to anger over its Buzz social network with an apology and second round of privacy-related changes.

The latest move replaces the controversial "auto-follow" feature with something Google calls "auto-suggest."

Saturday's revision was the second major change to Buzz since the service was introduced last Tuesday. Since then, Google had been besieged by complaints that Buzz endangers user privacy.

I came across this video while browsing Hulu.com, it's a great video that provides an indepth look at all the different services Google provides. The last segment covers Google's involvement with Cloud Computing and Google Apps.

Enjoy

Orlando this week became one of the first cities in America to switch all of its employees to Google e-mail. This move means cutting annual e-mail costs by two-thirds, saving taxpayers an estimated $262,500 a year.

With government budgets squeezed, Google hopes other cities will follow Orlando into the "cloud." "The contract with Orlando is very important to us," said Michael Lock, vice president of sales in America for Google Enterprise. "They're going to be on the leading edge of doing this, not the bleeding edge. It's not the biggest contract, but Orlando is a very well-known city." Orlando will no longer need the City Hall servers it uses to run its current Lotus Notes e-mail system, or pay for the electricity those servers consume, the extra data storage to archive employee mail or the two network administrators who oversee it.

"It made more sense to me given my budget. I had to look at a different way of doing business," said Chief Information Officer Conrad Cross, whose IT department was whittled from 84 workers to 69 this year.

If Orlando were to keep its current system, city officials estimate it would cost $133 a year for each of its 3,000 employees -- or $399,000 -- including annual software licenses.

Google is charging $45.50 per user, or $136,500. In return, everyone from city planners to police officers will use a Web-based e-mail system similar to Google's popular Gmail, but without the advertisements that support the free consumer version. Google servers will store all city e-mail and run the application, and Google technicians -- not city employees -- will make sure it runs smoothly.

A half-dozen Google techs scurried around City Hall on Thursday and Friday, trying to make sure the transition went smoothly.

Orlando's contract includes Google Docs, which includes word-processing, spreadsheet and presentation software meant to compete directly with Microsoft Office. But Cross said the city will stick with Office for now to avoid the expense of retraining employees.

Thousands of businesses and universities have switched to Google, according to the company. But so far, few cities other than Orlando have.

Los Angeles became Google's crown jewel in October, when that city approved a $7.25 million e-mail contract with the Internet giant, but Los Angeles has not yet moved its 30,000 employees to the Google system.

Google cited its deal with Orlando, which had already been signed, in its pitch to Los Angeles.

The vote there culminated a yearlong battle between Google and Microsoft, whose lobbyists warned that Google wasn't ready for the security implications of handling public e-mail for such a large work force.

Lock said Google will archive Orlando records, which must be kept and accessible under state public-records law, in "super-secret data centers." And Cross said he's confident city records, including sensitive law-enforcement and legal documents, will be safe from loss or cyberattack. Google has greater security resources, from people to money, than Orlando could muster on its own.