Google’s productivity software, G Suite, will soon cost a little more. Google recently announced that prices for both G Suite Basic and G Suite Business will increase for the first time ever. G Suite Basic will go up from $5 per user per month to $6, and G Suite Business will increase from $10 to $12.
Why charge more for G Suite? Google says it has been aggressive in developing new apps, features and benefits like increased storage over the last several years, and that they have tripled the value of G Suite via artificial intelligence, meeting tools and other features.
When cloud companies such as Google, Netflix, and Hulu start increasing prices, it raises a significant concern for consumers and small businesses about control over costs. Can cloud providers just raise their prices by 20% percent whenever they please? And if they do, what can small businesses really do about it?
In isolation, G Suite’s price-to-value argument makes sense. However, prices of cloud-based technology services are creeping higher due to everything from storage prices to trade wars. For a small business, it adds up. For example, a company with 5 users will see annual costs go from $300 to $360.
And for Google, these price increases could really add up. There are four million businesses on G Suite as of January 2019, and G Suite is estimated to represent half of Google’s cloud revenue. The price increase will take effect on April 2, 2019.
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