Google Grabs New Australian Agreement

Google is gaining new ground in Australia.

The search engine has signed an agreement with Netregistry and Devnet to bring a specially tailored version of Google Apps to the country. The customized suite will be marketed as a complete communication solution for businesses, boasting features such as local domain integration, email, calendar functions, and corporate instant messaging.

“The agreement … allows businesses without an existing internet domain to acquire an Australian domain (.com.au) when they sign up to Google Apps,” explains Google Director of Sales for Asia Pacific and Latin America Paul Slakey. “We’ve been thrilled with local businesses’ response.”

“Businesses all over Australia will have access to a range of applications that are powerful, simple to use, and deliver real productivity gains,” added Devnet CEO Craig Deveson. “Google has delivered a clearly differentiated product and we are confident business will get on board.”

The companies says their agreement marks the first time the Google Apps suite has been used in such a way in Australia.