Google Inc. will sell the online services of other business software makers in an effort to fill its own product gaps and persuade more organizations to rely on applications piped over the internet, reports the Associated Press. The online store marks another step in Google’s crusade to convert the world to “cloud computing,” the idea of running applications in web browsers instead of installing them on individual hard drives. More than 50 software makers have agreed to sell their web-based software through Google, which will keep 20 percent of the sales. The prices are expected to range from $50 annually to several hundred dollars annually per user. Intuit Inc., a maker of business accounting software, and Concur Technologies Inc., a maker of expense reimbursement software, are among the best-known vendors peddling their wares in Google’s store.

All the applications sold in Google’s store can be melded with Google’s own cloud-computing services, said Vic Gundotra, the company’s vice president of engineering. About 25 million people working for more than 2 million businesses, government agencies, and schools use Google’s online applications, according to the company…

Click here for the full story