Google India on Wednesday reduced the pricing for Google Apps for Business to make it more affordable for small businesses working in the cloud.

New and existing customers in India will now pay Rs 150 per user per month if they are on the flexible plan and Rs 1,500 per user per year on the annual plan – a 45 per cent reduction on the previous price, the Company said in a statement.

Google Apps offers easy solutions for web mail, calendars, cloud storage, and video meetings through Google’s consumer products, Gmail, Calendar, Drive, Docs, and Hangouts.

These tools work together seamlessly through an Internet-connected device. Companies can securely access all their data and services from a mobile phone including Android, iOS or BlackBerry platforms, it said.

“India is home to around 47 million small businesses, yet only one per cent of these businesses are online. We hope that by making Google Apps more affordable, more small businesses in India will be able to move to the cloud and access a business-ready package of communication and collaboration tools,” Ricky Kapur, Director of Enterprise Sales, Asia said.

With a 99.9 per cent availability guarantee, zero scheduled downtime and 24/7 support, Google Apps, offers businesses security and support while removing the need to manage hardware, security updates or software patches. Gmail, Calendar, Drive, Docs and Slides now also work well offline, he said.

“The best part of switching to Google Apps is that when I’m travelling, I can easily communicate with my colleagues by going online. That is not only saving on the costs of having to call overseas but also provides great ease when you know that you’re able to connect with people when you’re out of the office,” Vishwajeet Singh, Chief Intelligence Officer, Epitome Travel Solutions said.

Programmes like India Get Your Business Online, Women Entrepreneurs on the Web or Google Business Groups are some of the other Google initiatives in India designed to help small businesses come online and use the web to succeed and grow.