Google Apps users can expect to see significant improvements in the suite's voice- and video-chat capabilities, as the company builds on Gmail's current features in that area.

Gmail's voice and video chats are now limited to one-to-one communications, but Google wants to broaden that capability to more than two participants and make it more robust all around for Apps.

"This [current Gmail capability] is the first step in a much broader set of features we hope to roll out over the next six to 12 months around video [and voice] chat capabilities," said Rishi Chandra, a Google Apps product manager. "It's a great opportunity for us to push that space along."

Apps, a Web-hosted communication and collaboration suite for workplaces, is used by more than 20 million people in more than 2 million organizations.

In planning these enhancements, Google has decided not to add a separate application to the suite, Chandra said.

More: http://computerworld.com/s/article/9140306/