WHAT IS GOOGLE WORKSPACE

• Google Workspace(formerly known as Google Apps and later G Suite) is a

collection of cloud computing, productivity and collaboration tools, software and
products developed and marketed by Google.
• It was first launched in 2006 as Google Apps for Your Domain and rebranded as G
Suite in 2016.
• Google Workspace consists of Gmail, Contacts, Calendar, Meet and Chat for
communication; Currents for employee engagement; Drive for storage; and
the Google Docs suite for content creation.
• An Admin Panel is provided for managing users and services.
• Depending on edition Google Workspace may also include the digital interactive
whiteboard Jamboard and an option to purchase such add-ons as the telephony
service Voice.
• The education edition adds a learning platform Google Classroom and today has
the name Workspace for Education.
 HISTORY

First Google Workspace Second Google Workspace

logotype (Google Apps) logotype (Google Apps for
(2010-2013) Work) (2015-2016)

Third Google Workspace Fourth Google Workspace

logotype (G Suite) (2016- logotype (2020-present)
2020)
 PRODUCTS
• Google Workspace
comprises Gmail, Chat, Meet, Calendar; Drive for
storage; Docs, Sheets, Slides, Forms, and Sites for collaboration; and
an Admin panel and Vault for managing users and the services.
• The Starter plan includes email addresses with
custom domains (@yourcompany.com), video and voice calls,
calendars, 30GB storage, collaborative documents, spreadsheets,
presentations and sites, controls for security and privacy, and 24/7
phone and email support.
• The Business Plus plan enables many additional custom features,
including advanced admin controls for Drive, 5TB storage on Drive,
audit and reporting insights for Drive content and sharing.
 GMAIL

• Gmail is a web-based email service, launched in a limited beta release on

April 1, 2004.With over 1 billion active consumer users worldwide in February
2016, it has become popular for giving users large amounts of storage space
• As part of Google Workspace, Gmail comes with additional features designed
for business use, including
• Email addresses with the customer's domain name (@yourcompany.com)
• 99.9% guaranteed uptime with zero scheduled downtime for maintenance
• 30GB of storage space
• 24/7 phone and email support
• Synchronization compatibility with Microsoft Outlook and other email
providers
• Support for add-ons that integrate third-party apps purchased from the
Google Workspace Marketplace with Gmail.
 GOOGLE DRIVE

• Google Drive is a file storage and synchronization service, launched on April 24,
2012. The official announcement described Drive as "a place where you can
create, share, collaborate, and keep all of your stuff".
• With Google Drive, users can upload any type of file to the cloud, share them
with others, and access them from any computer, tablet, or smartphone. Users
can sync files between their device and the cloud with apps for Microsoft
Windows and Apple macOS computers, and Android and iOS smartphones and
tablets.
• As part of Google Workspace, Google Drive comes with additional features
designed for business use, including.
• Either 30GB, 2TB, 5TB per user, or unlimited storage, depending on the plan
• Advanced admin controls, depending on the plan
• Audit and reporting insights for Drive content and sharing, depending on the
plan
 GOOGLE DOCS, SHEETS AND SLIDES

• Google Docs, Google Sheets and Google Slides are a word processor, a spreadsheet and
a presentation program respectively.
• The three programs integrated into Google Drive as part of the Google Docs suite.
• They all serve as collaborative software that allow users to view and edit documents,
spreadsheets and presentations together in real-time through a web browser or mobile device.
• Changes are saved automatically, with a revision history keeping track of changes.
• There is also the capability to set user permission levels to designate who can view, comment or
edit the document as well as permissions to download the specific document.
• Google Forms, meanwhile, is a tool that allows collecting information from users via a
personalized survey or quiz. The information is then collected and automatically connected to a
spreadsheet. The spreadsheet is populated with the survey and quiz responses.
• In June 2014, Google introduced Office support in Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides without the
need for file conversion.[
• As part of Google Workspace, Google Docs and Slides come with additional features designed
for business use, including unlimited revision history
 GOOGLE FORMS

• Google Forms is a survey application.

• Forms features all of the collaboration and
sharing features found in Docs, Sheets, and
Slides.
• It can also be used to create quizzes, including
some specialized functions that are of use in
educational settings.
 Google Sites

• Google Sites is a creation tool that allows multiple

people to create and edit websites, without
requiring coding knowledge or other web design
skills.
• It was introduced in February 2008 in an effort to
help customers "quickly gather a variety of
information in one place – including videos,
calendars, presentations, attachments, and text –
and easily share it for viewing or editing with a small
group, their entire organization, or the world.
 Google Calendar

• Google Calendar is an online calendar intended to help keep track of

time and schedules. It was launched in April 2006, and integrates with
Gmail for users to easily add events from email messages directly to the
calendar.
• As part of Google Workspace, Google Calendar comes with additional
features designed for business use, including.
• Smart scheduling of meetings, where the service finds available times
and appropriate locations based on coworkers' schedules
• Public calendars for consumers to see a business' upcoming events
• Calendar integration with Google Sites
• Easy migration from Exchange, Outlook or iCal, or from .ics and .csv files
• Ability to see what meeting rooms and shared resources are available
 Google Chat

• Google Chat is a communication software developed

by Google built for teams that provides direct messages and team
chat rooms, similar to competitors Slack and Microsoft Teams,
along with a group messaging function that allows G Drive
content sharing (Google Docs, Google Sheets, Google Slides).
• It is one of two apps that constitute the replacement for Google
Hangouts, the other being Google Meet. Google planned to begin
retiring Google Hangouts in October 2019.[64]
• Google Hangouts remains a part of Google Workspace, but will
be discontinued and replaced by Google Chat and Google Meet
by the end of 2020.[65]
 Google Meet

• Google Meet is a standards-based Video

Conferencing application, using proprietary protocols
for video, audio and data transcoding.
• Google have partnered with Pexip to provide
interoperability between the Google protocol and
standards-based SIP/H.323 protocols to enable
communications between Hangouts Meet and other
Video Conferencing equipment and software.
 Google Currents
• Google Currents lets team members "engage and communicate"
at "a deeper level", with a stream featuring posts, comments and
Communities based on common goals. It "makes it easy for
anyone to discuss and share ideas, no matter their team, level or
location". It features Collections that make it easy to group posts
by topic, in order for users to "show what they know and follow
what matters most".
• As part of Google Workspace, Google Currents comes with
additional features designed for business use, including
enhanced privacy controls and restricted communities.
• Currents is a modified successor of Google+, which was shut
down for consumers and brands on April 2, 2019.
 Google Keep

• Google Keep is a note-taking service with a variety of

tools for notes, including text, lists, voice, and images.
• Google Keep became part of Google Workspace in
February 2017, and as part of Google Workspace,
Google Keep comes with additional features designed
for business use, including.
• Integration with Google Docs to easily access Keep
notes while on Docs on the web
 GOOGLE VAULT

• Google Vault, an archiving and electronic discovery service

exclusively available to Google Workspace customers, was
announced on March 28, 2012.[20]
• Vault gives users "an easy-to-use and cost-effective solution for
managing information critical to your business and preserving
important data", with Google stating that it can "reduce the costs
of litigation, regulatory investigation and compliance actions" by
saving and managing Gmail messages and chat logs with the
ability to search and manage data based on filters, such as terms,
dates, senders, recipients, and labels.[20][73][74]
• An update in June 2014 let Vault customers search, preview, copy,
and export files in Google Drive.[75]
 JAMBOARD

• In October 2016, Google announced Jamboard, the first

hardware product designed for Google Workspace.
• Jamboard is a digital interactive whiteboard that enables
collaborative meetings and brainstorming.
• The Jamboard is connected to the cloud, and enables people
in different locations to work together in real-time through
multiple Jamboards or connected remotely through a
smartphone companion app.
• The Jamboard recognizes different touch inputs, such as using
a stylus to sketch or eraser to start over, and does not require
batteries or pairing.
• Google Workspace Marketplace (formerly Google Apps
Marketplace and then G Suite Marketplace), launched in
2010, is an online store with business-oriented cloud
applications that augment G Suite functionality. The
Marketplace lets administrators browse for, purchase, and
deploy integrated cloud applications.It comprises the
Business Tools, Productivity, Education, Communication,
and Utilities categories.
• In September 2014, Google released a blog post saying
that employees would be able to install third-party apps
from the Marketplace without involving administrators.
 OTHER FUNCTIONALITY
• Introduced in February 2017, Google Cloud Search enables a "unified search experience" in Google Workspace.
Cloud Search lets users search for information across the entire G Suite product lineup.
• Users can also search for contacts, with results including the person's contact details, as well as events and files in
common.
• The Cloud Search mobile app features "assist cards", described by Google as "a new way to help you find the right
information at the right time.
• Using Google's machine intelligence technology, these cards can help you prepare for an upcoming meeting or
even suggest files that need your attention". Google states that Cloud Search respects file-sharing permissions,
meaning that users will only see results for files they have access to. The initial global roll-out of Cloud Search
introduced the functionality for G Suite Business and Enterprise customers, with Google stating that more
functionality will be added over time, including support for third-party applications.[82][83]
• Introduced in July 2017, Hire by Google was a job applications and management tool developed by Google to be
used in combination with G Suite. The tool lets employers track job candidates' contact information, as well
as résumés, calendar invitations, and allows for business partners to share feedback on candidates. Job applicants
can choose what information to share with potential employers. The tool is designed for businesses based in the
United States with fewer than 1,000 employees,[84] and integrates with Google services, such as Gmail for
sending messages, Google Calendar for tracking schedules, Google Sheets for overview of all candidates,
and Google Hangouts for initial conversations.Google introduced Work Insights in September 2018 for
administrators to see how departments are using Google products. In August 2019, Google announced that it
would be shutting down Hire in September 2020, instead choosing to focus on "other products in the Google
Cloud portfolio.
 SECURITY AND PRIVACY

• Google states that "we do not collect, scan or use your G Suite data for advertising purposes and do not display
ads in G Suite, Education, or Government core services". Furthermore, it states that "the data that companies,
schools and government agencies put into our G Suite services does not belong to Google. Whether it's
corporate intellectual property, personal information or a homework assignment, Google does not own that
data and Google does not sell that data to third parties".[88]
• Data is stored in Google's data centers, which are "built with custom-designed servers, that run our own
operating system for security and performance", with "more than 550 full-time security and privacy
professionals".In a blog post, Google stated that benefits of using G Suite included "disaster recovery", with
data and information "simultaneously replicated in two data centers at once, so that if one data center fails, we
nearly instantly transfer your data over to the other one that's also been reflecting your actions." Though
acknowledging that "no backup solution from us or anyone else is absolutely perfect", Google states that it has
"invested a lot of effort to help make it second to none".[89]
• Encryption, specifically AES 128-bit or stronger, is applied to data while stored at data centers, under transit
between data centers and users, and between data centers.[88]
• At its introduction in June 2014, TechCrunch reported that Google Drive, as part of G Suite, offers "enterprise-
grade security and compliance", including SSAE 16 / ISAE 3402 Type II, SOC 2-audit, ISO 27001 certification,
adherence to the Safe Harbor Privacy Principles, and can support industry-specific requirements like Health
Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).[90] In October 2020, Google announced the new Business
Plus pricing tier for Workspace that includes enhanced security features and controls like Vault and Advanced
Endpoint Management, but not the full security options available in Enterprise editions of Workspace.
 CUSTOMERS

• As of April 2020, Google has 6 million businesses paying

for G Suite,while it has 120 million G Suite for Education
users.
• In September 2014, Amit Singh, then-President of then-
named Google for Work, stated that "60 percent of the
Fortune 500" companies were paying for the service,
with "more than 1,800 customers" signing up each week.
• Notable companies using G Suite
include Uber,AllSaints,BuzzFeed,Design Within
Reach,Verizon, Axis Bank and PwC.
 REFERRAL AND PARTNER PROGRAMS

• In March 2014, Google announced the Google Apps Referral

Program in the United States and Canada. The program lets
users receive money, coupons and other incentives by
referring customers to G Suite.
• In December 2014, Google introduced the Google for Work
and Education Partner Program. The program combined
existing, individual programs from Apps, Chrome, Cloud
Platform, Maps, and Search into one overall program, and
"allows partners to better sell, service and innovate across the
Google for Work and Education suite of products and
platforms.
 GEOGRAPHIC AVAILABILITY

• Google Workspace is available in most countries and regions.

However, Google restricts access to some of its business
services in certain countries or regions, such
as Crimea, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, and Syria. If anyone tries
to sign in to these services from these countries or regions,
they would get an error message.
 COMPETITORS

• The key competitor to the Google suite is

Microsoft Office 365, Microsoft's cloud-based
offering for businesses that includes similar
products. The key differences are in the
pricing plans, storage space and number of
features.