What Is Google Workspace – Formerly known as G Suite and Google Apps, this comprehensive guide describes the essential features of Google Workspace for organizations.
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What Is Google Workspace
Google Workspace is a suite of communication and collaboration applications designed for people in organizations. Core Google Workspace communication apps like Gmail and Google Meet, as well as collaboration apps like Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Forms, are widely used around the world. Collaboration applications are designed from the ground up to allow multiple people to work on a document, spreadsheet, or presentation at the same time.
Introducing Google Workspace: Everything You Need To Get Anything Done, Now In One Place
Unlike standard free Gmail or Google accounts that can be created by an individual, Google Workspace accounts are created and managed by an administrator. An administrator has significant control over Google Workspace default settings, app access, and security settings. Workspaces allow different configurations to be applied to different groups of people or, in the term Workspace, to different organizational units.
Google Workspace can be configured to serve organizations that work with highly sensitive data. For example, an administrator can prevent Workspace data such as email, calendar items, and Drive files from being stored offline.
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The following apps are available as part of the core offerings for most editions of Google Workspace. For more details about each app, click the link name to go to the corresponding Google Workspace page.
Google Workspace For Slack
One of the most important aspects of Workspace applications is speed. Google provides .new shortcuts, which when entered into the URL field of a modern browser, create a new element of the type shown. For example,
The following offerings are not specifically listed as core Workspace apps, but are often available depending on the edition of Google Workspace you’re using. In some cases, they require an additional purchase.
On desktop platforms like Windows and macOS, you can access Google Workspace apps through a modern web browser. In most cases, organizations using Workspace prefer to standardize on Google Chrome. Signing in to your Workspace account with Chrome not only allows you to access Workspace apps, but also allows you to use some Chrome features.
For example, if an administrator allows it, people can configure Gmail, Docs, Sheets, and Slides to sync locally for offline work. Many other modern browsers, such as Microsoft Edge, Firefox Browser, and Safari, allow people to use most of the features of Google Workspace when they are online.
Workspace Is Google’s All In One, Do Everything Productivity Tool
For Windows and macOS, Google offers Google Drive for desktop (formerly Google Drive File Stream), which lets people browse Drive files and folders through a natively installed app. This makes the experience of navigating items stored in Drive more like navigating your local file system.
You can install multiple Google Workspace apps on Android, iOS, and iPadOS. For example, you can download and install Gmail, Calendar, Drive, Docs, Sheets, Slides, Meet, Chat, and Keep from Google Play (Android) or the iOS App Store (Apple).
Note: There are currently no mobile apps for Google Sites or Google Forms; however, websites or forms created by those apps work best on mobile devices.
Many organizations using Google Workspace choose to purchase related items, such as Chromebooks, Google Meet hardware, Jamboard devices, or Google Voice phone equipment. These devices and their related services can be connected to your organization’s Workspace account for configuration by a Workspace administrator.
G Suite Is Now Google Workspace Because ‘work Is No Longer A Physical Place’
Chromebooks and other Chrome OS devices, such as tablets or 2-in-1s, allow people to sign in with a Google Workspace account and then have full access to all Workspace apps. Most Chromebooks today can run Android apps, most Linux apps, and a few high-end devices can run Windows apps using third-party software. Chrome Enterprise controls allow an administrator to fully manage and deploy Chrome and Chrome devices.
First, Business Editions are only available for organizations that require up to 300 user accounts. Organizations requiring more than 300 accounts should contact Google to investigate Enterprise editions. If you need a Workspace for a single user, you can consider Google Workspace Individual, but you can choose any Business or Enterprise edition.
Third, memory limits, Meet limits on the number of participants and recordings, security configuration and report management capabilities, and access to certain applications increase as you move from Basic to Standard to Plus editions.
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What Is Google Workspace: Plans & Pricing
Pricing varies depending on your organization and edition of Google Workspace. For example, educational institutions and non-profit organizations can use some editions of Workspace for free, although these organizations may choose to upgrade to paid versions for advanced features and controls.
Below is a list of recommended publications; For more information on pricing, see the Google pricing page. In addition to the editions listed, Google also offers Google Workspace for Government, Google Workspace for Health, and Google Workspace for Retail.
Priced at $9.99 per month or $99.96 if paid annually, Google’s own edition includes access to core Workspace apps, along with booking services and email marketing.
Google Workspace Individual makes sense if one person wants Workspace apps and doesn’t need to add or manage any additional accounts. For example, Personal Publishing makes sense for a person’s part-time side business or sole proprietor.
Google Workspace Security Features Every Business Should Know About
For more details on storage differences between plans, see Google Workspace Storage: 3 Important Things You Need to Know.
Organizations requiring more than 300 accounts will need the Enterprise edition, which provides access to technical security and management controls.
Smaller organizations that want access to these features can sign up for the Enterprise edition, as there is no minimum number of user accounts required for Enterprise Standard or Enterprise Plus accounts. However, these features are typically very useful in organizations with large numbers of people and devices.
You can keep your current email and calendar solution like Microsoft 365 and add Google Workspace Essentials. It allows people in your organization to collaborate with Docs, Sheets, Forms, Slides, Meet, Sites and Keep, which they can use alongside legacy solutions.
Microsoft 365 Versus Google Workspace
Designed to keep frontline workers and other employees connected, Frontline Edition includes access to core Workspace apps like Gmail, Calendar, Chat, Meet, Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Sites, as well as endpoint management capabilities to protect mobile data. devices. Storage is limited to 2 GB per account.
Eligible institutions such as K-12 schools, as well as colleges and universities, can apply for free access to Google Workspace for Education Fundamentals. This not only gives students, teachers, administration and staff access to Workspace collaboration apps, but also includes access to Google Classroom.
Google Classroom provides a structured way for teachers to share lessons with students, have students complete and submit work, grade teachers, and provide feedback on that work.
Organizations that apply and qualify can use Google Workspace for Nonprofits for free, which is basically Google Workspace Starter Edition. However, Google allows nonprofits to upgrade to other editions at a significant discount. Plans and pricing for qualified and approved nonprofits include:
Google Workspace’s File Lock Stops Colleagues Messing With Your Documents
There are at least three reasons why you should upgrade to a paid Google Workspace account instead of using a free Gmail account:
Go to Google Domains to purchase a domain name of your choice for your new organization. After registering a domain name, the system offers the option to select and set up Google Workspace accounts for the domain. This method avoids multiple domain name server configuration steps that would otherwise have to be performed manually.
Yes. Google Workspace includes several features that support organizations with files in the Microsoft Office file format. Google Drive supports saving many types of files, including .doc/.docx, .xls/.xlsx, and .ppt/.pptx. Google Drive for desktop lets you open and edit these files with your locally installed Office software if you want.
Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides support original editing and collaboration in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files, respectively. Gmail also lets you quickly save, open, or edit Office file attachments you receive.
Google Workspace Updates: Google Workspace Migrate Is Now Generally Available
If you want additional apps that work with Workspace, your first stop should be the Google Workspace Marketplace — a directory of third-party apps managed by Google. Among hundreds of other apps, these apps include:
Workspace also includes the ability to connect to third-party applications using Single Sign-On and Security Authentication markup language. This allows people in your organization to sign in to their Workspace account and then access connected third-party web applications without the need for additional authentication. In some cases, the system can be configured to automatically add a new account to the third-party service whenever a new Google Workspace account is created. The directory of pre-integrated SAML applications lists various vendors