WebProNews

The rollout of Google’s unified communications package, Google Apps, has opened a new version for rebranding by Internet service providers. It wasn't too long ago that Google Apps arrived in a Premier Edition, with support options and extended storage in Gmail for its clients.

Google has taken an incremental step forward with another version of Google Apps. Called Partner Edition, the service offers ISPs the opportunity to drop a web-based productivity package onto their networks, complete with the provider's branding.

"You can quit spending your resources and time on applications like webmail -- and leave the work to our busy bees at the Googleplex," Google’s Hunter Middleton wrote at the Official Google blog.

The webmail option within Google Apps, fulfilled by Gmail, represents the linchpin of the Partner Edition. ISPs would pay Google for this rebranded version of Google Apps. In exchange, the headache of handling email traffic and its attendant issues like spam and viruses would be Google’s problem.

Google Apps offers Gmail with or without accompanying advertising, depending on whether the Standard, Premier, or Education version has been chosen. We envision Google offering ISPs a revenue share in exchange for having ads enabled in Gmail for the provider's email users.

Such a share might even be a way for ISPs to leverage Google’s fees through ads for subscribing to the Partner Edition. A revenue share could offset the subscription price; if the ISP makes a small profit each month, while Google earns more AdWords revenue, both sides win.