Google is introducing two-factor authentication to its Google Apps products. This means that in order to access the enterprise services (mail, documents, etc.) the Google user will have to know their password and also supply a one-time verification code. That code will be sent to your cell phone, or generated by a special application on the smart phone.
The approach is not novel, and does not provide 100% security, but it is notable because of Google’s size and influence. Having such a large player adopt stronger authentication can only help to speed the adoption by other organizations, and that is a good thing.
By doing this now, and previously making https the default in gmail, Google is demonstrating that better security can be done on a large scale, with general users.