Google Workspace
Google Workspace (formerly Google Apps and later G Suite ) is a suite of cloud computing and collaboration productivity tools and software, offered by Google on a subscription basis.
| Google Workspace | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type | Web Services |
| Developer | Google Inc. |
| Operating system | Any (web application) |
| First edition | August 28, 2006 (released as Google Apps for Your Domain) |
| License | Proprietary software |
| Site | workspace.google.com/int… |
Includes
popular Google web applications including Gmail, Hangouts, Calendar and Currents for
communication; Storage drive; Docs, Keep, Forms and Sites for
productivity and collaboration; and, depending on the plan, an
administration panel for managing the vault, users and services.
Although
these products are available free of charge for home use, Workspace offers
specific advantages for organizations or in the professional field such as
personalized email addresses based on the domain (@yourcompany.it),
30 GB of minimum storage space for documents and emails per user, as well as
telephone and email assistance 24/24.
As
a cloud computing solution, it offers a different approach to commercial
office personal productivity software by hosting customer information
in Google's network of secure data centres, or on traditional
in-house managed servers and physically in the corporate offices.
According to Google, more than 5 million organizations worldwide use Google Apps, including 50% of Fortune 500 companies.
History
Ø February
10, 2005: Google starts a test for Gmail for Your Domain at San Jose
City College, offering hosting of Gmail accounts with SJCC domain addresses and
administrative tools for managing accounts.
Ø August
28, 2006: Google launches Google Apps for Your Domain, a set of
applications for organizations. Available for free as
a beta product, it included Gmail, Google Talk, Google Calendar,
and Google Page Creator later replaced by Google Sites. Dave
Girouard, then vice president and general manager for enterprise at Google,
defines the benefits for enterprise customers: " Organizations
can rely on Google's expertise to offer email, messaging solutions and other
web-based services, while needs of users and day-to-day business activities ”.
Ø October
10, 2006: An edition for schools, known as Google Apps for
Education, is introduced.
Ø February
22, 2007: Google introduced Google Apps Premier Edition which,
unlike the free version, offers more storage space (10GB per account), APIs for
enterprise integration, and a Service Level Agreement with 99.9% uptime. The
cost is $50 per user account per year. According to Google, early adopters
of Google Apps Premier Edition include Procter & Gamble, San Francisco
Bay Pediatrics, and Salesforce.com.
Ø June 25, 2007: Google adds several features to Google Apps, including mail migration, which allows customers to transfer existing email data from an IMAP server.
In a ZDNet article, it is noted that Google Apps offered an
alternative tool to the popular Microsoft Exchange Server
and Lotus Notes, positioning Google among the alternatives
to Microsoft and IBM.
Ø October
3, 2007: One month after acquiring Postini, Google announces it has
added the startup's email security and compliance options to Google Apps
Premier Edition. Customers, therefore, can better
configure spam and virus filters, implement retention
policies, restore deleted messages, and provide administrators with access to
all emails.
Ø February
26, 2008: Google introduces Google Sites, a new and simple
Google Apps tool for creating intranets and websites for teams.
Ø March
9, 2010: Google opens Google Apps Marketplace, an online
store for third-party business applications that integrate with Google Apps,
making it easier for users and software to do business in the cloud. Among
the vendors involved appear Intuit, Appirio and Atlassian.
Ø June
9, 2010: Google launches Google Apps Sync for Microsoft
Outlook, a plug-in that allows customers to synchronize email, calendar and
contact data between Outlook and Google Apps.
Ø July
7, 2010: Google announces that the services included in Google Apps
(Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Docs and Google Talk) are no longer in beta.
Ø July 26, 2010:
Google introduces Google Apps for Government in the
United States, an edition of Google Apps designed to address the unique
security needs and policies of the public sector. It also announced that
Google Apps had become the first cloud application suite to receive Federal
Information Security Management Act (FISMA) certification and
accreditation.
Ø April
26, 2011: Google announces that organizations with more than 10
users are no longer eligible for the free version of Google Apps, and would
therefore have to sign up for the paid version, now known as Google Apps
for Business. A flexible billing plan is also presented,
allowing customers the option to pay $5 per user per month with no contractual
commitments.
Ø March
28, 2012: Google releases Google Apps Vault, an optional
eDiscovery and archiving service for Google Apps for Business customers.
Ø April
24, 2012: Google introduces Google Drive, a platform for
storing and sharing files. Each Google Apps for the Business user is given 5
GB of Drive storage, with the option to purchase more storage. Many
observers note Google's entry into the cloud storage market, becoming a
competitor to entities such as Dropbox and Box.
Ø December
6, 2012: Google announces that the free version of Google Apps is no
longer available to new customers.
Ø May
13, 2013: Google increases Drive storage quota for Google Apps
customers by combining the 25GB in Gmail and 5GB in Drive, increasing the total
per user to 30GB for use across all Apps products, including Gmail and Google
Drive.
Ø March 10, 2014: Google launches the Google Apps Referral Program in
select countries, offering participants a $15 referral voucher for each new
Google Apps user referred.
Ø June
25, 2014: Google unveils Drive for Work, a new Google Apps
proposition that offers unlimited file storage, advanced audit reporting, and
new security controls for $10 per user, per month.
Ø September
2, 2014: Google Enterprise, the company's enterprise products
division, is officially rebranded as Google for Work. " We never
wanted to create a traditional 'enterprise' business, we wanted to create a new
way of working," explained Eric Schmidt, executive
chairman of Google. " The time has come for our name to become as big as
our ambition." As a result, Google Apps for Business is
renamed Google
Apps for Work.
Ø November
14, 2014: Sub-domains are no longer supported in the free edition of
Google Apps. The free edition of Google Apps therefore only supports
domain aliases.
Products
Google
Workspace is the integrated Google suite for professional use (companies,
institutions, self-employed workers, associations, and organizations in general),
made up of office-type applications or personal
productivity software. Therefore, it includes configuration and modelling
functions for the use of the solution (Google Admin). As mentioned above,
the same applications can also be used at home or for non-professional use:
in this case, the solution formally maintains the Workspace qualification although
it is not a 'workspace' in the corporate sense of the term.
The
range of Google Workspace products and services includes Gmail, Google
Calendar, Google Drive, Hangouts, Docs, Sheets, Slides, Forms, Sites, Currents and
Vault. Except for Google Apps Vault, the entire range is
included in the basic plan, costing 4 euros per user per month or 40 euros per
user per year. Drive for Work is a premium package, it includes Google
Apps Vault, and unlimited storage space and is available for 8 euros per
user per month.
If
you use a Google Workspace promo code you can get 10% off the first
year.
Gmail
Gmail was introduced in a limited launch on April 1, 2004, and is currently the most
popular web email service in the world. The service opened to all
consumer users in 2007. As of June 2012, 425 million people use Gmail,
according to Google.
The
free consumer version of Gmail is supported by text ads relating to the content
of users' email messages. Popular features include 15GB of free
storage, per-conversation management, powerful search features, and an
application-style interface.
While
similar to the free version, Gmail in Google Apps for Work offers additional
features designed for business users.
Some
of the features include:
Ø Personalized email
with the customer's domain name (@yourcompany.it)
Ø 99.9% guaranteed
uptime with no planned downtime for maintenance
Ø 30GB or unlimited
storage space shared with Google Drive, plan dependent
Ø No advertising
Ø 24/7 customer
support
Ø Google Apps Sync for
Microsoft Outlook
Drive
Google's
file storage and synchronization service were introduced on April 24, 2012, at
least six years after the first rumours about the product spread. Google's
official announcement described Google Drive as "a place where you can
create, share, collaborate and keep all your content".
With
Google Drive, users can upload any type of file to the cloud, share them with
other users and access them from any
computer, tablet or smartphone. Users can easily sync files
between computers and the cloud with a desktop application for Mac and
PC. The application creates a special folder on your computer and allows
you to synchronize all changes made to files in Drive, on the web and on
devices. The consumer version of Google Drive includes 15GB of storage
shared between Gmail, Drive and Google+ Photos.
When
offered as part of Google Apps for Work, Google Drive comes with additional
features designed for business use. Features include:
Ø 30GB or unlimited
storage space shared with Gmail, depending on the plan
Ø Customer assistance
24/24
Ø Sharing controls
that keep files private until customers decide to share them
Ø Advanced monitoring
and reporting
In
some situations, the organization needs to switch to the storage plans provided
by Google One.
Docs, Sheets, Slides and Forms
Google
Apps includes online editors for creating text documents or document
formats, spreadsheets, presentations, and surveys. The
toolset was initially released on October 11, 2006, as Google Docs &
Spreadsheets.
You
can use Google Docs, Sheets, Slides and Forms in any web browser or
on any web-enabled mobile device. You can share, comment and collaboratively
review documents, spreadsheets, presentations and polls in real-time. Additional features include unlimited revision history which allows
all changes to be kept safe in one location with offline access allowing users
to work on documents without an internet connection.
On
June 25, 2014, Google introduced native editing for Microsoft Office files in
Google Docs, Sheets and Slides. Similar to comments in other
articles, a Mashable reporter wrote, "Google is clearly pitching
its applications as a more cost-effective solution for companies with the need
to occasionally edit Office files."
Sites
Introduced
on February 28, 2008, Google Sites allows users to create and edit web pages
even if they are unfamiliar with HTML code or web design. Users
can build sites from scratch or use templates, upload content such as photos
and videos and control access permissions, selecting who can view
and edit each page.
Google Sites was launched as part of the paid Google Apps suite but was soon made
available to consumer users as well. Corporate customers use Google Sites
to build project sites, corporate intranets, and public sites.
Calendar
Designed
to integrate with Gmail, Google's online calendar service launched for
consumers on April 13, 2006. It uses the iCal standard to interact
with other calendar applications.
Google's
online calendar is an integrated, shareable online calendar designed for teams. Companies
can create team-specific calendars and share them with the rest of the company. You
can delegate calendars to another user to manage specific calendars or events. Users
can also use Google Calendar to check the availability of meeting rooms or
shared resources and add them to events.
Some
useful features of Google Calendar include:
Ø Sharing calendars
with team members and other users to check their availability
Ø Overlay team member
calendars in a single view to identifying when all members are available
Ø Using the mobile
device application or syncing with the built-in calendar on mobile devices
Ø Web publishing of calendars and integration into Google Sites
ØEasy migration from Exchange, Outlook and iCal or from.ICS and.CSV files
Ø Booking rooms and
shared resources
Hangouts
On
May 15, 2013, Google announced that a new text, voice, and video chat tool
would replace Google Talk, Google Voice, and Google+ Hangouts services. Known as Google Hangouts, it allows up to 10 users in
the consumer version and up to 15 users in the professional version to join
conversations via computers or portable devices. Participants can
share their screens and view or collaborate on content. The Hangouts
On Air service allows users to stream and automatically record live broadcasts
on Google+, YouTube and their own websites.
The
version of Hangouts included with Google Apps for Work supports up
to 15 participants and allows administrators to choose whether to limit the use
of Hangouts to only users of the same domain, limiting the access of external
participants.
The
Hangouts application keeps your messages stored online in the Google cloud and
offers an option to turn off the history if you want to make your messages
private. Additionally, the Google+ integration allows users to save
their photos with other users in a private and shared album on Google+.
On
July 30, 2014, Google announced that all Google Apps customers will have access
to Hangouts, including those without a Google+ profile. Google has
also partnered to integrate with other video chat providers such as Blue Jeans
Network and Intercall. Google also announced that Hangouts falls
under the same Terms of Service as other Google Apps for Work products such as
Gmail and Drive. Apps for Work customers are also offered 24/7 phone
support for Hangouts, a 99.9% uptime guarantee, and ISO 27001 and SOC 2
certifications.
On
December 19, 2014, Google announced via a Google+ post that it had restored one
of the most requested features of Hangouts in Gmail, the ability for
application administrators to decide whether to keep status messages visible
only internally.
In
2020 the service is almost totally replaced by Google Meet and, above
all, by Google Chat, a step accelerated by the ongoing Covid19 pandemic,
and the user limit is raised to 100 users. Hangouts are here to stay for
casual use.
Google+
Google+ was Google's social networking service, launched on June 28, 2011, in
an experimental phase and by invitation only. Observers have called
it Google's latest attempt to challenge social networking giant Facebook. Although
Google+ has since overtaken Twitter to become the second most used
social network after Facebook, it has been criticized for
disappointing users and failing to generate referral traffic.
On
October 27, 2011, Google announced that Google+ was available to users who use
Google Apps for college, work, and home use.
On
August 29, 2012, Google announced that, following feedback from enterprise
customers who had participated in a pilot program, Google+ features had been
scaled for organizations. These features included private sharing between
organizations and administrative controls that allowed you to limit the
visibility of profiles and posts.
On
November 5, 2013, Google added an extra layer of security for restricted
communities that only users belonging to a certain organization could
join. Administrators can set restricted communities by default and choose
which users outside the organization can join.
Google+,
as a business network, has received mixed reviews ranging from features that
get small businesses noticed online, to user confusion about the brand, to
being considered a major player in social strategy marketing for companies. Many
online articles point out that the presence of Google+ allows companies to be
promoted thanks to Google search results rankings since Google+ posts and
shares are immediately indexed by Google.
In
2019, the free section of the social network was closed, remaining active only
for G Suite customers.
In
2020, all G Suite users are gradually being migrated from Google+ for G Suite
to Google Currents.
Google Apps Vault
Google Apps Vault is an eDiscovery and archiving service available exclusively to
Google Apps customers and was announced on March 28, 2012. Vault
allows customers to find and preserve email messages that can be used for
litigation. It also helps clients manage corporate data for continuity,
compliance, and regulatory compliance purposes. Effective June 25,
2014, Vault customers can also search, preview, and export Google Drive files.
Google
Apps Vault is included with Drive for Work and offers unlimited storage,
available for $10 per user, per month. As of February 2020, Google
Apps Vault is an option included by G Suite (formerly Google Apps) at no
additional cost for Business and Enterprise profiles, allowing you to store
data in the place (in the application) where it was natively generated or to
export and re-import them later on Gmail, Drive and Hangouts Chat. There
is no certification of the date and connection data, while an API for
replacement archiving on third-party systems is provided, provided they are
certified partners of Google, such as Veritas or ZDiscovery.
How to use Google Workspace
Google Workspace (formerly G Suite) is a
collection of cloud-based productivity and collaboration tools developed by
Google. It includes Gmail, Calendar, Drive, Docs, Sheets, Slides, Meet, and
more.
To use Google Workspace, you'll need to sign
up for an account at https://workspace.google.com/. Once you have an account,
you can access the various tools by logging in to your Google account and
clicking on the app launcher in the top right corner of the screen.
Here are a few basic tasks you can do with
Google Workspace:
Ø Use Gmail to send and receive emails.
Ø Use Calendar to schedule meetings and events.
Ø Use Drive to store and share files.
ØUse Docs, Sheets, and Slides to create and collaborate on
documents, spreadsheets, and presentations.
Ø Use Meet to video conference with others.
Note that Google Workspace also includes advanced features such as team-wide email lists, shared calendars, and the ability to grant others access to documents, and also includes security and compliance features for enterprise customers.
Prices
When
potential customers sign up for Google Apps for Work, they get a free 30-day
trial for up to 10 users. At the end of the trial, you can choose
between an annual plan for 40 euros per user per year or a flexible
plan for 4 euros per user per month or 48 euros per year. Both
plans can be billed on a monthly or yearly basis.
Customers
can add unlimited storage and Google Apps Vault for a total monthly cost of $8
per user. For organizations with fewer than five users, this option limits
storage to 1TB per user.
In
the non-professional context, people can use Google Workspace for free (just
having a Google account), obviously with various limitations (starting with
online storage spaces, the inability to acquire a domain in your own name and
others).
Google Apps Device Policy
Google Apps Device
Policy is an app (present on the Google store) that implements
the security control of a mobile device, which uses a Workspace corporate
account, by the server that delivers the Workspace suite. Through this
agent, the domain administrator can implement a set of security rules and the
agent can monitor their use as well as perform security operations on the
device.
The
rules are:
Ø Device password
length and strength requirements.
Ø Maximum number
relating to the following elements:
Ø Invalid passwords
allowed before device data wipe.
Ø Recently expired
passwords that have been blocked.
Ø Days before the
device password expires.
Ø Minutes of
inactivity before the device automatically locks.
Ø Days the device
didn't sync before the data was wiped.
Ø App control.
Ø Remotely wipe data
or an account from the device.
Ø Device Policy app
version requirements.
Ø Blocking devices
whose security is compromised.
An
essential condition is that a work profile is configured on the device,
associated with the company account, and registered using Android Device
Policy which is the Android service (implemented through
an app) that takes care of configuring basic security rules for enabling remote
control.
Security
Google
guarantees not to retain customer data. The data is stored in Google's
data centres and access is limited to selected employees and staff. Google
does not share the data with other entities, it keeps them until requested by
customers, who have the right to withdraw the data in case of migration from
Google Apps.
Google
Apps offers enterprise-class security and compliance, including an SSAE 16 /
ISAE 3402 Type II, SOC 2-audit, ISO 27001 certification, follows Safe Harbor
privacy principles, and allows you to support specific industry requirements
such as HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act). Google
says it has incorporated anti-spam tools into Google Apps with a built-in virus
check and document check before users can download any messages.
Google
ensures that all files uploaded to Google Drive are encrypted and that any
email users send or receive is encrypted during internal transfers between data
centres. In a blog post, Google for Work said it provides an
important contractual commitment to protect customer information and does not
display advertising or collect customer information for advertising.
Competition
The Google Workspace suite's main competitor is Microsoft Office 365, a cloud-based business offering from Microsoft that offers similar products. Online reviewers are not unanimous in defining which is the best offer. Reviews say Google Apps and Microsoft 365 have similar ratings, but the features are very different.
The main differences are in the pricing plans, storage space and several features. Microsoft 365 offers more features than Google Workspace, yet many of these features are often not used., Google does not provide revenue or user figures, making it difficult for reviewers to compare the success of G Suite and Microsoft Office., As of October 2014, Microsoft has 7 million customers for Office 365 and has seen a 25% growth in the last quarter.,
There are currently no startups competing with the Google Apps suite because the cost of competing on a product, such as an email, is too high and the revenue opportunity is small.,
With Drive for Work and apps with unlimited storage and Vault, Google Workspace has attracted new competitors: Box, Dropbox and OneDrive.
Included products
Included in the offer, and which can be activated from the administration panel for all or part of the users, are all Google products for home users, including:
Ø The Gmail e-mail service, with space, included
starting from 25 GB and a relative application for managing the address book.
Ø The Google Calendar calendar manager, with the
ability to assign calendars to facilities or classrooms.
Ø The Google Drive online storage, office
automation, and collaboration service.
Ø The platform for creating, managing and
publishing the websites Google Sites.
Ø Management of educational activities in schools through
the Classroom platform.
Ø The instant messaging service Google Chat.
Ø The Google Meet teleconferencing system.
Ø Access to the Google Currents social network.
Ø The video-sharing platform YouTube and formerly, Picasa images.
Ø The blogging service thanks to Blogger.
Ø Access to the API.
Ø Google Contacts Google's contact management tool.
