Google has announced a significant decision that will see it cease allowing users to sign up to its Google Apps service free of charge.

In a blog post, Clay Bavor, director of product management for Google Apps, explains that the move is being made in order to focus the quality of the user experience on the needs of paying, business users, with fuller support. However, those that have already signed up for the service for free will still be able to use it as before.

“When we launched the premium business version we kept our free, basic version as well,” Bavor explains. “Both businesses and individuals signed up for this version, but time has shown that in practice, the experience isn’t quite right for either group. Businesses quickly outgrow the basic version and want things like 24/7 customer support and larger inboxes. Similarly, consumers often have to wait to get new features while we make them business-ready. ”