This Week in Google Apps – Google Apps Vault

This week, Google launched Google Apps Vault, a powerful and cost-effective alternative to traditional eDiscovery, an often costly and lengthy process required during instances of litigation. The new tool, similar to Google’s Postini archiving service, saves and archives all email coming into and out of a domain’s users’ Gmail inbox, even if the messages are individually deleted by end-users.

Unlike Postini, Vault is integrated into Google Apps for Business just like any other Google Apps product. Domain administrators that install the service on to their domain, can launch the service from the within Gmail. Vault is however more expensive than Positini ($33 per user per year vs. $50 per user per year), but we think the front-end integration with Google Apps will increase user adoption and understanding, meaning that if and when litigation does occur, your company is armed and ready with the necessary documents.

Google Vault is yet more proof that Google is 100%-dedicated to the web and dead-set on becoming the enterprise cloud computing leader. We’re certain that Google’s latest feature will making ‘Going Google’ even more compelling for those organizations not yet totally convinced. And as with all of Google’s other enterprise products, Vault is affordable enough that even small businesses can protect against potential suits and ensure they’re in compliance with industry or government mandates.