Got a Google Apps problem at work? Now, you can call tech support 24/7

Google is giving all its Google Apps for Business customers access to a 24/7 tech support phone line.

At the company’s all-day cloud event, Atmosphere, the company announced that the around-the-clock phone support would be available effective immediately. Separate support lines will operate for U.S. and international customers.

“To improve the experience of our customers, we now provide 24 x 7 phone support to small, medium and large Google Apps for Business customers for all issues affecting the core services,” wrote Jocelyn Ding, Vice President, Google Enterprise Operations, in a company blog post.

“All support cases are handled directly by trained Google Apps experts.”

Online help will also be available via the web through online troubleshooting wizards, a status dashboard and tech support forums.

“One of our core values is delivering products that just work for our customers, so in addition to serving customers directly, our support team provides our product and engineering teams with input regarding the usability and quality of our products,” Ding continued.

What this means for Google is that with better training wheels and stronger support in place, it can sell more of its product to web-wary companies of all sizes and all ages.

The Atmosphere audience was replete with enterprise CIOs who already use Google’s cloud-based tools for business, and they were quite excited about the news.

We caught up with Justin Simmons, information chief for the popular fabric and crafting chain Jo-Ann. The company’s stores number more than 800, and for companies of that size and scope, tech support is a must-have.

“This is a very big deal,” Simmons said, noting that Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft Stores was one of the first Google Apps for Businesses customers.

Simmons told us that the upper echelons of management were apprehensive about moving to Google Apps at first, especially given the fact that there was no regular tech support. Noting that he doesn’t have a strong IT background, Simmons said, “We struggled a lot at first, but they will be very, very impressed with this.”

Image courtesy of juggernautco.

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