Google launched an application marketplace today comprised of services from third-party providers that integrate with the Google Apps ecosystem.
The news has been anticipated for some time. In particular, it shows how much Google is embracing open-standards and leveraging its search and Google Apps platform to attract third-party developers.
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Google made the announcement at its Google Campfire One event tonight. The emphasis Google is putting on the enterprise is apparent in how much attention the company put into the event tonight. Over and over we heard that Google passed the 25 million customer mark over the weekend.
It is that mark that Google is using as its hook for attracting developers to its platform. Developers will be charged $100 to join the program. With that entrance fee, the developers may add as many apps as they wish to the Google Apps Marketplace.
The marketplace supports OpenID to provide a single sign-on for developers. Authorization is integrated into the platform. The customers get access through OAuth, the open standard for authorizing users.
A "manifest page" is the foundation for the service. The developers provides information when adding the application to the marketplace that identifies it. Developers then provide additional information about the product.
The system is a controlled marketplace. Application developers submit the app for approval, which might take a few days.
Intuit provided an example of how the system works by showing how payroll would be managed. The customer accesses the account. With Google Apps integration, the customer accesses their account where they have the employee information. It's that collected contact network that is then integrated with the payroll application.
Atlassian showed how Studio, its project management application would integrate with GMail and Google Apps. Again, if the company is standardized on Google Apps, the information is available through the network. It is this network availability that demonstrates the effectiveness of the Atlassian application.
Manymoon is another project mangement application that was demonstrated. It is using Google Apps to develop features such as a calendar feature, showing how a startup can leverage Google Apps to add features to its service.
Other companies part of the initial launch include Socialwok and Appirio, which demonstrated perhaps one of the most interesting aspects of the marketplace.
The apps in the marketplace can be integrated with contextual information. An email can show information about the sender that gives the recipient business intelligence that can help determine what action to take.
In all, the Google Apps Marketplace shows the modern view that Google is taking with its approach to the social Web. It integrates with OpenID and OAuth.
But at its core, the marketplace at its base is built upon Google's search capabilities. Google Apps can be extended with the applications in the marketplace. In turn, developers have access to the built-in capabilities of Google Apps.
Perhaps the greatest value to customers will be if they are centralized on Google Apps. If so, they can get some pretty powerful capabilities of the Google Apps Marketplace.
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