Google calls on graduates to promote Apps in their workplace

IDG News Service - Google is trying to recruit college students who used the company's Apps for Education suite in school to become evangelists for the business version of the product as they move on to the workplace.

More than 12 million students, faculty and staff use Apps for Education, which is free, in thousands of universities.

Called Google Guides, the program is aimed at seniors about to start their careers, at young alumni and at other students who aren't graduating yet but who are headed to internships.

A Google Guide gets information about promoting Apps for Business in their company, as well as advice on managing their careers and, if they're still unemployed, on finding a job.

Google is also interested in students who didn't use the full Apps for Education suite but who have used one or more Google communications and collaboration applications, like Gmail and Docs.

"When you become a Google Guide, we'll equip you with resources to introduce and implement Apps in your workplace," wrote Lauren Kolodny, a Google Apps Marketing Manager, in a blog post.

Students get no financial incentives for introducing Apps for Business to their company, such as a commission or a referral fee, a Google spokeswoman said.

In her blog post, Kolodny suggests that the Apps Guides stand to gain appreciation from their employers for sparking the initiative to implement the suite, and could become the company's resident Apps experts.

Google Apps, considered a pioneer in cloud-based collaboration and communication software for businesses, will face heightened competition from Microsoft when the latter launches its Office 365 suite later this year.