Follow Google I/O sessions with Friend Connect

Google I/O is coming up in one week, on May 27 and 28 in San Francisco, California. To help developers network before the event, we've enabled all I/O session pages with Google Friend Connect. With Friend Connect you can express interest in a session, comment on sessions, see who else is going, and see which of your friends are going.

It's not too late to register for Google I/O. We hope to see you there!

New Google Apps connects with BlackBerry Enterprise Server

This week we were pleased to announce the upcoming release of the Google Apps Connector for BlackBerry® Enterprise Server. This new software component will make it even easier for mobile users to use Google Apps on BlackBerry® smartphones. It allows users to access Gmail, Google Calendar and Contacts using the built-in BlackBerry smartphone applications they already know and love.

Google Apps Connector for BlackBerry Enterprise Server is currently in beta testing with select companies and universities, and will be available free of charge to all Premier and Education Edition customers this July. However, we want to make sure you have time to prepare for its release so we've added a 1-page datasheet and other sales material to the 'Collateral' section of the Google Apps Solution Providers site. We'll also cover details of the release and provide other helpful information in our June Partner Marketing Webinar. Look out for details over the next few weeks.

New for Your Customers: Getting Started Guides for Google Docs

Here are a few tips for your customers who are new to Google Apps: Getting Started Guides for spreadsheets, documents, and presentations. These three guides cover the basics about Google Docs and have handy tidbits of information on features. Just include these links in your next blog post or newsletter to customers.

Remember to sign up for Google I/O

The Google I/O Developer Conference is coming up on May 27 – 28, 2009 in San Francisco, California, and we want to see you there! Google I/O is a great opportunity to see the latest from the developer community and to interact directly with the engineers who work on Google's developer products. We're building out a lot of content geared toward Apps partners, including sessions on practical standards-based security and using Google Secure Data Connector to bring existing data into Google Apps. Learn more

New for Google Apps Admins: An Online Community

Based on feedback from Google Apps admins who are looking for a way to connect online we've just launched a new site where Google Apps admins can meet one another, discuss topics unique to their roles, and share best practices.

We used Google Sites to make the site relevant and easy to use. We also integrated Google Maps, Moderator and Forms. Check out the Admin Community map to see where members are located, or the "Share your perspective" tool to give input or vote on community comments.

You can share this forum with your customers and prospects so that they can come in, find out more about what Google Apps offers, and help create a dialogue that can help all of us learn.

New Google Apps developer tools, including App Engine java runtime and Secure Data Connector

Tonight we held a Campfire One event where we announced a number of new developer tools for Google Apps customers and commercial developers of all types. These new tools include a preview release of Java language support for Google App Engine and the Secure Data Connector, which makes it easier to connect applications running in Google's cloud with on-premise systems.

Read more about it on the Google Enterprise blog.

New guide comparing Google Apps with Microsoft Exchange Server

Read our new partner guide [link updated: 4/22/09] to learn the key differences between Google Apps Premier Edition and Microsoft Exchange Server 2003/2007.

You can use this to help educate Google Apps prospects that are using or considering on-premise Exchange.