I have recently started recommending and installing Google Apps solutions for real small clients who do not have a real need for and/or cannot afford a Microsoft Exchange solution. With this in mind, I wanted to take a few minutes to explain why and when I think Google Apps is the right solution.

In my opinion the target company for Google Apps is a small 1 - 5 person shop that does not have a real client/server domain. This means they do not have a file server and are not willing to purchase one. Normally startups fall into this category. If they are willing to purchase a file server I will always recommend Microsoft Small Business Server 2003 which includes Microsoft Exchange Server 2003. I of course only recommend the Small Business Server version to clients that are not large enough to require Microsoft Server 2003 Standard or Enterprise.

Google Apps gives you the following features:

• Company Name Based Email - To me there is nothing worse than seeing companyname@hotmail or any other non-custom domain email addresses (companyname@aol.com is the absolute worst thing you can do). With Google Apps it is very easy and cheap (sometimes even free) to have your email address be - yourname@companyname.com.

• Gmail Interface - Google Apps uses the Gmail interface that is easy to use and many people are already familiar with.

• Web Access - With Google Apps you can access your email from anywhere that you can get on the internet.

• Collaborative Calendaring - Google Apps includes Google Calendar which gives you the ability to share appointments and tasks with other team members. This is really important for service based companies.

That is just a few of the features Google Apps offers and I am not saying that you do not get those features with Microsoft Exchange Server. I am however saying that you can get those features for a very low cost ($50/year per user).

So for startups and really small companies Google Apps offers a very cost effective solution that still gives them many of the features of a real enterprise based collaborative software solution like Microsoft Exchange server.

Just to make sure I am clear, I do recommend Microsoft Exchange Server for companies that can afford it and/or are bigger than just a few users.

I have been a fan of Rich Internet Applications (RIA) for some time now. They give you much of the same functionality of a fat app but the flexibility of running them over the internet. There is no client side install and any computer with a compatible browser and an internet connection can access them. This architecture becomes extremely useful in organizations that have a decentralized workforce. There is no need to setup a VPN or open various ports on your firewall. They function over standard internet ports 80/443. They are much faster than running a data driven application over a VPN.

With such technologies as XML, Web Services and Ajax really taking shape RIAs seem to be positioned to soon overtake fat applications. Microsoft Dynamics CRM is a great example of a robust RIA.

With all that said, there seems to be big challenger to RIAs lingering in the horizon, Windows Server 2008 Terminal Services.

Windows Server 2008 is set to add many functional improvements to Windows’ Terminal Services. Terminal Services RemoteApp is one of the most impressive features in my opinion. Terminal Services RemoteApp gives you the ability to run a single application in terminal server. That means that you no longer have to share the entire desktop to end users. This functionality used with Terminal Service Web Access gives you much of the same flexibility as a RIA but the power of a fat app.

All in all, I am really comparing apples to oranges but I am interested to see how the battle of application development takes shape and if advances in Windows Terminal Services change the playing field.

I personally think RIAs are the way to go but I guess I am bias because I am a web developer but I am also a sys admin, so who knows.