Yuan Yang

After a surge of one million new customers in less than two years, Google Workspace surpassed six million business users in late 2020. Starting from this June, Google is making the service available to anyone with a Google account. But what is Google Workspace, and why has it become such a popular enterprise platform around the globe?

Google Workspace (formerly known as G-Suite) is a collection of cloud-based apps such as Gmail, Google Meet and Google Docs. You’re probably already familiar with several of these apps from personal use. The difference is that Google Workspace is designed for business use, with secure data and advanced admin tools at your disposal. Employees can access or edit files, collaborate on projects, and attend meetings from anywhere with an internet connection. Let’s explore the benefits of using Google Workspace for business and communications.

How to Use Google Workspace

To use Google Workspace, head over to workspace.google.com and sign up with one of the four pricing plans. Users can be set up in Google Workspace’s Admin Console, which is where you’ll manage permissions and monitor productivity among employees. Using Google Workspace is simple, as you only need to sign in to your new Workspace account in the same way you would your personal Gmail. After doing so, you’ll be able to use Google’s apps through your organisation’s cloud.

Benefits of Using Google Workspace

From reducing the costs of your business to allowing your staff to communicate and work on projects more effectively, here are the ten top benefits of making the switch to Google Workspace.

1) Access familiar Google Apps

Without question, the number one benefit of using Google Workspace is the ability to securely access a bundle of well-known apps through cloud hosting. Google’s apps are all designed with a focus on collaboration and mobility, so they’re some of the best options when it comes to business use. Some of the top apps included with Google Workspace are:

• Gmail
• Google Docs
• Google Slides
• Google Sheets
• Google Calendar
• Google Hangouts/Meet
• Google Sites
• Google Drive

2) Create personalized Gmail accounts

One of the big draws of Google Workspace is that it allows your employees to each have their own personal business email account through Gmail (e.g. [email protected]). Not only does this look professional to the customers and clients you’re communicating with, but it also helps with organisation and gives your company access to smart features through Google’s AI. This includes email scheduling, smart composing, nudge alerts, and Google Translate.

3) Organise data with Google Drive

Storing all of your documents and files in the cloud has many benefits. Firstly, it allows each of your departments to share and control access to different assets and folders. This can be helpful with teams that frequently need to work together on spreadsheets and documents. Secondly, it’s easy to find the exact files you’re looking for with Cloud Search, which locates company files across Drive, Gmail and Google Calendar. Google has an impressive 99.9% SLA (Service Level Agreement) for its apps, which means you’re very unlikely to ever experience any downtime or scheduled maintenance.

4) Easily schedule and host meetings

Google Workspace makes it easy to schedule and host internal meetings between your departments or external meetings with clients. Google Calendar connects straight to Gmail, allowing your colleagues to easily RSVP to events you’ve scheduled, show attendees, and send out email reminders. You can use either of Google’s video conferencing apps (Google Hangouts or Google Meet) to host meetings and invite anyone with a link. Google Meet can host an impressive 250 participants per call and even has live-streaming features for up to 100,000 viewers. Both of these apps are integrated with Gmail, and Hangouts can be used for direct messages or group chats between teams as an alternative to emailing.

5) Gain 24/7 accessibility

Gone are the days where you needed to be sat at a specific computer to access files. Google Workspace is a powerful tool for your business because it can be accessed from anywhere at any time. This gives your team members the freedom to work from home, review documents, or discuss a project without having to physically be in the office. As Google Workspace is hosted on the cloud and compatible with every available browser, it means you can access its apps on a whole bunch of different devices, such as PCs, Macs, tablets, and Apple and Android phones.

6) Never run out of data

With Google Workspace for business, you’ll never have to worry about running out of space to store your files and emails. The service comes with unlimited data for all of your company’s assets and features easy-to-use data migration tools for securely moving all of your important information from your company servers. There are also additional features for keeping your data safe, such as Vault, which allows you to export files to a local device. Google Backup and Sync can automatically copy cloud data onto your servers or devices.

7) World-class security protocols

Google is known for being an industry leader when it comes to protecting your data, and Google Workspace is no exception. There are top-notch security protocols in place for both the tech giant’s cloud-based services and its real-world data centres. Some of these measures include encryption for every email or file that moves between its servers, two-step verification for users signing in from an unknown device, biometric security measures at its data centres, and AI admin alerts for any unusual login attempts.

8) Integrate with CRM and third-party apps

One of the great things about Google Workspace is its collection of available third-party apps. By integrating with a CRM like Salesforce, your sales and customer service departments can simplify their workload by performing important actions and viewing account insights without having to leave Google Workspace. There are plenty of other third-party apps available that can boost your productivity, all of which can be managed through the Admin panel.

9) Manage employee activity

Google Workspace makes it easy for managers and owners to control company activity through centralised administration. The Admin app lets you use integrated cloud identity features to manage users and set up security measures like two-step verification and security keys. You can set different restrictions on geographical location, third-party apps and devices to keep things secure. You’ll also be able to monitor employee use of Google Workspace to gain productivity insights and find potential security risks.

10) Save on software and server costs

If you’re interested in a cost-effective way to scale up your business, Google Workspace is definitely worth your time. One of the main advantages is that you no longer have to pay to install and run servers out of your office when you’re hosting data on Google’s cloud. As we mentioned earlier, Google has plenty of rigorous security measures, which could also save your company money on data protection. Thirdly, with Google Meet and the ability to share files from any location, you can cut down on physical travel costs.

Summary

To summarise, Google Workspace is an effective tool for improving the way your company communicates across departments and manages its data. The advantages of accessing your files at any time from any location are even more attractive when coupled with Google’s industry-leading security measures. Video conferencing apps, personalised Gmail accounts and collaborative apps like Google Docs, Slides and Sheets make Google Workspace a powerful cloud-based platform.

How Textr Helps by Improving Customer Service Communications

If you’re interested in using Google Workspace to expand your business, Textr is another platform that can help by improving your communications. If you have customer service teams that work remotely, you can buy local and toll-free phone numbers from across the USA and Canada and assign them to your team members, regardless of their location. Much like Google Workspace, Textr can be used from both desktop and mobile devices. Subscribe to a phone number for your business to begin making unlimited calls and texts to your customers.

FAQs

Does Google Workspace replace G-suite?

Yes, Google replaced G-Suite with Google Workspace in October 2020. The new platform offers a more unified experience for cloud-hosted apps.

What alternatives are there to Google Workspace?

There are several alternatives to Google Workspace, the most robust being Microsoft Office 365. Other tools like Slack focus on team collaboration through messaging, while Dropbox Business focuses on file sharing. Zoho, Samepage, and Rackspace are other alternatives.

How much does Google Workspace cost?

Google Workspace has four pricing plans: Business Starter ($6 USD per user per month), Business Standard ($12 USD per user per month), Business Plus ($18 USD per user per month), and Enterprise. Enterprise is the most advanced plan and prices can be found by contacting Google’s sales team.