'Organizations of all shapes and sizes can get access to Google's industry leading security and compliance technologies,? said Scott Petry, Google's director of product management, as Google this week announced a series of security products Powered by Postini that deliver message filtering, encryption and archiving for any business environment.

“As threats rise in volume and complexity, and compliance requirements pile up, IT is struggling to find the resources to keep up,” Petry continued. “Now, Google can take care of this for you."

"For instance, outbound message filtering helps prevent sensitive data from going outside the company firewall, which could result in identity theft or compromise a client's personal information. Also, increasing industry regulations are creating demand for better message storage, with quick and easy retrieval."

Google's new security services work with any mail system, Petry added, including Lotus Notes, Microsoft Exchange, and Novell Groupwise, and with pricing starting at $3 per user per year can accommodate the budget of any business. 

Customers can sign up online and immediately begin to improve the security of their email, he said.

The new packages are part of the Google Apps platform and are available immediately at www.google.com/a/security, direct from Google, and through channel partners, and can be deployed within hours. The Google Apps suite also includes Gmail email services, Google Docs for documents, spreadsheets and presentations, Google Calendar shared calendaring, Google Talk instant messaging, and the Start Page feature for creating a customizable home page.

Policy management and 90-day message discovery services are also available at no additional charge to Google Apps Premier Edition users, Petry noted.