"I think of this as a love story," began Chris Vander Mey, Senior Product Manager at Google, as he announced Google Apps Sync for Microsoft Outlook, a plug-in that syncs Outlook with Apps, much like Outlook syncs with Exchange.

But love? Not so much. Google, intent on building its enterprise channel, has recognized that many Outlook users - particularly enterprise users - aren't ready to make the leap to the cloud and to Google Apps. But maybe, just maybe, Google Apps Sync is what it will take to woo them.

According to a press release, Google Apps Sync works on Outlook 2003 and 2007 and will synchronize email, calendar and contacts data with Google Apps.
Google Apps Sync for Microsoft Outlook Announced