Google Workspace for a better workflow and remote col­lab­o­ra­tion

What is Google Workspace? Under this name, Google groups together a number of cloud-based ap­pli­ca­tions that can be used to create a virtual working en­vi­ron­ment. Google Workspace is a mul­ti­func­tion­al col­lab­o­ra­tion software provided via a cloud. The Google cloud allows teams access to data, online calendars, and project schedules, and enables them to co­or­di­nate tasks re­gard­less of location – all that’s needed is an internet con­nec­tion and a browser. The sharing function and real-time syn­chro­niza­tion make it possible to edit a document si­mul­ta­ne­ous­ly.

The complete package, including word pro­cess­ing programs and com­mu­ni­ca­tion tools, is also known as Google Apps for Business. In 2016, Google rebranded several apps under the name Google Workspace and added new features to the series. This brought Google into direct com­pe­ti­tion with Microsoft. Many com­po­nents of the app series resemble Office ap­pli­ca­tions and the cloud-based solution by Microsoft, Microsoft 365. Since then, Google offers a col­lec­tion of its tools in a sub­scrip­tion model. The following services belong to the paid Google Workspace service:

• Gmail (e-mail program)
• Google Drive (cloud space)
• Google Calendar (online planner)
• Google Hangouts (video­con­fer­ence and messaging service)
• Google Docs (word pro­cess­ing tool)
• Google Sheets (tool for table creation)
• Google Slides (pre­sen­ta­tion tool)
• Google Keep (note­tak­ing tool)
• Google Vault and admin (archiving and man­age­ment function)
• Google Sites (tool for creation of public and internal websites)
• App Maker (de­vel­op­ment platform)

Although many in­di­vid­ual services such as the e-mail program Gmail or the Google calendar are also available free of charge to private users, they are mostly available in a slimmed-down version. The Google Workspace dif­fer­en­ti­ates itself from a private Google account in other respects. For example, it is only possible to set up a Gmail corporate account and use a company e-mail address with the Google Workspace tools.

The sub­scrip­tion variation is aimed at small and medium-sized busi­ness­es, but also at large cor­po­ra­tions or self-employed persons. In principle, for a monthly or annual fee you get an all-round carefree package. You can use the entire range of features without any re­stric­tions and benefit from ad­di­tion­al man­age­ment tools. The latter allow project managers, ad­min­is­tra­tors, and superiors to define approval options for certain files via a central dashboard and to better connect different apps with each other. In addition, telephone support is available at all times.

The Business and Premium versions offer companies unlimited storage space. Also, they offer better com­pat­i­bil­i­ty with software solutions from other providers so that, for example, external archiving functions can be in­te­grat­ed. Those who greatly value data security can receive ad­di­tion­al security options. For example, a multi au­then­ti­ca­tion procedure makes access by unau­tho­rized persons more difficult.

With the cloud solution, Google Workspace is dedicated to the groupware concept. Whether doing home office or on a business trip, all employees can work seam­less­ly in the digital workspace in­de­pen­dent from time zones or location. All ap­pli­ca­tions are optimized for mobile devices. With cloud computing, companies can outsource their IT in­fra­struc­ture to the virtual cloud while accessing unlimited storage capacity. The only re­quire­ment is a fast internet con­nec­tion, because the full range of services can only be used online. Al­ter­na­tive­ly, it is possible to save data on your PC or in your own data center and to work offline.

It’s worth taking a closer look at each of the Google Workspace tools. This way, you can better assess whether the fee-based software package would make your daily work easier and how in­di­vid­ual apps differ from common Microsoft Office tools and other ap­pli­ca­tions.

There is also a corporate version of the well-known e-mail program that is available as part of the Google Workspace. Once logged in, employees can access their e-mail and see the latest of their cor­re­spon­dence, re­gard­less of their location or which device they’re using. Ad­di­tion­al­ly, ad­min­is­tra­tors can manage accounts from one central place. Unlike a private account, it’s possible to in­di­vid­u­al­ize your e-mail address and in­cor­po­rate the company name into the domain. The paid-for version is com­plete­ly free of ad­ver­tise­ments.

The ad­di­tion­al features prove to be just as practical. The inbox has a chat function and, because it is connected to Google Hangouts within the Google Workspace, it also serves as a video con­fer­enc­ing tool, allowing you to col­lab­o­rate with col­leagues and formulate important e-mails together.

With an online calendar, col­leagues can keep an overview of all upcoming deadlines and client meetings and, if desired, can be reminded of them in advance. Entire teams can also use the shared calendar to enter meetings or keep track of holidays and other absences. Rather than or­ga­niz­ing ap­point­ments with each in­di­vid­ual, the tool au­to­mat­i­cal­ly checks if a colleague is available at a certain time for a meeting. Google Calendar is also com­pat­i­ble with some other online planners, saving you duplicate entries and extra effort.

If you want to keep your entire de­part­ment or your partner or­ga­ni­za­tions up to date on important events and projects, integrate the calendar into an intranet site created via Google Sites. This allows managers to determine at any time who has access to the calendar and what details can be viewed. Another useful feature is the room planning function. You can integrate a plan of free meeting rooms or have the tool search for ex­ter­nal­ly available con­fer­ence rooms and reserve them via Google Workspace.

Google Drive is the heart of the Google Workspace. This cloud system provides you with a central place where you can store all the data you need to work together and access it from anywhere. It’s fun­da­men­tal for sharing and col­lab­o­rat­ing on updated data in real-time.

If you don’t want to build your own data center, you can easily move every­thing to the cloud. The storage space is almost unlimited with 1 TB per user. Only the Basic sub­scrip­tion limits the capacity to 30 GB. It is important to know that the data of all tools is stored on Google Drive. This means that all e-mails managed by Gmail are also stored there and deducted from the storage quota ac­cord­ing­ly. If you want to do without an IT in­fra­struc­ture, the Basic version might not suffice.

Would you prefer to store important data locally and make it available offline on your desktop computer? This is also possible: the data will then be syn­chro­nized au­to­mat­i­cal­ly with the cloud. Various control elements allow you to define approval options and control access for each in­di­vid­ual employee and entire de­part­ments. In addition, a machine learning function has been in­te­grat­ed, which in­de­pen­dent­ly evaluates which data is currently relevant and makes it visible for quick access. The storage space can also be sub­di­vid­ed in favor of a better overview. Anyone who has pre­vi­ous­ly used Microsoft Office can import the documents via a plugin in Google Drive without having to enter com­pli­cat­ed data.

With these ap­pli­ca­tions, Google Workspace offers a complete office package that allows you to create texts, conduct surveys, share spread­sheets, and create slides for a customer meeting. With these ap­pli­ca­tions too, users can benefit from the cloud-based solution: all remote employees can work together si­mul­ta­ne­ous­ly on one document. The changes can be seen by everyone im­me­di­ate­ly and can be easily undone. The chat feature saves you the hassle of sending big data packages back and forth and allows you to com­mu­ni­cate feedback via the comment function. All tools can also be operated in offline mode, but only via the Chrome browser. 

The look, feel, and interface are very similar to Microsoft ap­pli­ca­tions, so if you're used to Microsoft Word, you and your staff won't have much trouble making the tran­si­tion. However, you will have to cut back on the range of services you offer. If your style is dominated by graph­i­cal­ly so­phis­ti­cat­ed pre­sen­ta­tions and relies on a variety of for­mat­ting options, the Google Workspace can def­i­nite­ly not keep up with the com­peti­tor product, Microsoft 365. Consider whether or not you can do without it and whether the other tools in the Google Workspace outweigh this dis­ad­van­tage. Since the Google Suite is com­pat­i­ble with Office ap­pli­ca­tions, you can use them as well. Below are the tools on offer:

• Google Docs: This word pro­cess­ing program is very similar to Microsoft Word. It has all the basic tools for text for­mat­ting and page layout. However, the design options are much more limited. You can use add-ons to insert some fonts and other elements. You can easily import many third-party formats from Microsoft and Adobe and, for example, save them in such formats.
• Sheets: Make cal­cu­la­tions, evaluate data, and visualize it as a diagram – this is all possible with the Sheets app from Google Workspace. Excel tables can usually be imported without any problems. Only the commands for entering formulas differ oc­ca­sion­al­ly. The Google copy of Excel contains all common cell formulas. However, Excel is still the first choice for more com­pli­cat­ed tables.
• Forms: Forms allows users to create a ques­tion­naire or a survey quickly and easily. There are a number of pre-built elements to suit different types of questions. It also allows you to insert images and a company logo so you can maintain the visual design of your brand. The ad­van­tages of a software package are evident: the table tool evaluates answers in real time and displays the results graph­i­cal­ly.
• Slides: With this function, each employee can present their project results in a diagram or il­lus­trate their ideas with drawings, videos, or an­i­ma­tions. Using different templates, even novice employees can ex­per­i­ment with the graphics. With regard to the variety of templates and the design functions, however, this app does not stand a chance next to Pow­er­Point. 
• Notes: With Google Notes, you can jot down a fleeting thought and then create a mind map for the start of a project without running the risk of mis­plac­ing the note or losing it. Ad­di­tion­al­ly, the app helps with or­ga­ni­za­tion: you can create to-do lists and set up reminders for tasks and ap­point­ments. You can highlight notes in color and add photos, drawings and audio files. You can also use the search feature to filter an­no­ta­tions by color, label, and other cat­e­gories.

Users can save on travel expenses and valuable time with this virtual con­fer­ence room. Is the team spread out across numerous locations? Or is one of your col­leagues doing home office? Re­gard­less of where your employees are, you can still hold meetings or face-to-face con­fer­ence calls. Hangouts include video con­fer­enc­ing, voice-only messages, and text-based chats. When you integrate your Google Workspace with other tools, the Google Calendar reminds you of upcoming meetings or easily sends in­vi­ta­tions via Gmail. Internet-connected col­leagues can connect on the go using their in­di­vid­ual dial-in number. Con­nec­tions are easy to set up.

In com­par­i­son to Microsoft’s Skype, Hangouts offers more features, however, the video quality is poorer.

Even without IT knowledge, you can set up a website in the blink of an eye. With the Google Workspace, you can do this within the framework of a mul­ti­fac­eted platform and integrate data more quickly if necessary. It is possible to use Google Sites to build an intranet for seamless com­mu­ni­ca­tion. With easy-to-use templates for the layout and the user interface, the process of setting up a website couldn’t be easier. Sites also allows users to grant certain access rights to certain users.

This app serves as an ad­min­is­tra­tion tool and sim­pli­fies the archiving and legally secure storage of data, e-mails, and other content. To do this, you can divide the data generated by the Google Workspace into different packages, arrange them clearly and export them. It is also possible to view history logs and collect data specif­i­cal­ly for audits. In addition, Google Vault is used to manage user accounts. You can define retention periods to comply with privacy policies.

With App Maker, you can create apps for your company or or­ga­ni­za­tion according to your own ideas. For example, you could create one that fa­cil­i­tates the specific dis­tri­b­u­tion of tasks with your de­part­ment and that sim­pli­fies other work processes. The tool is designed as a low-code de­vel­op­ment platform, i.e. you develop your app using different templates without having to write time-consuming code. It is also possible to connect the app with other Google Workspace ap­pli­ca­tions.

The cloud-based Google Workspace has many ad­van­tages, but it also has its lim­i­ta­tions. How serious the dis­ad­van­tages are depends on the company. Every company needs different software solutions depending on the industry, its employee structure, and its company culture. It is therefore important to consider whether or not the Google Workspace (formerly Google Apps for Business) is actually ben­e­fi­cial and sim­pli­fies work processes. In order to assist with this decision-making process, we compare the relevant ad­van­tages and dis­ad­van­tages below.

The key feature of Google Workspace is the complete re­lo­ca­tion of data storage and data pro­cess­ing to the cloud. This is what dis­tin­guish­es it from Microsoft 365, making it the ideal platform for location-in­de­pen­dent teamwork and col­lab­o­ra­tion. Employees who are con­stant­ly on the move for client meetings, con­fer­ences, or sales tasks, can stay up to date, have access to all data, and can par­tic­i­pate in important meetings re­gard­less of their location.

Companies that allow employees to work from home are also guar­an­teed to stay up to date with Google Workspace. The same applies to companies that are spread across numerous locations or need to consult regularly with external partners, service providers, and clients. The com­mu­ni­ca­tion platform with cloud storage space ensures that every active user, wherever they are based, has si­mul­ta­ne­ous access re­gard­less if they’re using a laptop, a tablet, or a smart­phone.

Start-ups and smaller companies in par­tic­u­lar save resources if they don’t have to install any hardware or software of their own; data storage and computing processes are then carried out ex­ter­nal­ly. This elim­i­nates the need for an in-house data center and its main­te­nance. For this reason, the Google Workspace can also be an at­trac­tive option for self-employed people who often com­mu­ni­cate directly with clients and col­lab­o­rate on projects from outside. Google Workspace is therefore a step ahead when it comes to cloud-based col­lab­o­ra­tion.

In com­par­i­son to the Google Workspace, Microsoft 365 offers a rudi­men­ta­ry cloud solution. While the Google Workspace syn­chro­nizes all editing processes in real time, the Microsoft coun­ter­part usually requires an in­ter­me­di­ate step and is in any case not automatic. Office saves locally first; it is only when you then save the document to the OneDrive cloud storage or the Share­Point content man­age­ment system, or you activate cloud functions, that it is visible and editable for others. Microsoft 365 also offers an interface to the cloud and groupware functions, but net­work­ing is not com­plete­ly automatic.

If, on the other hand, you are looking for a hybrid solution and hard disk and data center storage, Office could be a suitable solution. However, the col­lab­o­ra­tion element is strongest with the Google Workspace.

A complete cloud system tends to make people dependent. Google Workspace requires a fast internet con­nec­tion and the suite’s lim­i­ta­tions are par­tic­u­lar­ly no­tice­able when using mobile devices. However, if the con­nec­tion is cut off, many functions have the option to switch to offline mode and to syn­chro­nize files at a later point.

If you don’t make local copies, they will only be stored by an external provider, in this case Google’s servers. Google employs security experts and, as a large cor­po­ra­tion, has a so­phis­ti­cat­ed in­fra­struc­ture in place to prevent data loss. However, even the best system is not 100% immune to technical glitches, temporary server downtime, data theft, or hacker attacks. Google also reserves the right to block the account for certain reasons ­– as a worst-case scenario solution.

As a Google Workspace user, you place sensitive data in the hands of the company and must trust that it is protected against unau­tho­rized access because you can’t exactly exercise your own control. The fact is that your data will end up on po­ten­tial­ly unsafe third-country servers to which different data reg­u­la­tions generally apply. Security cer­tifi­cates such as ISO 27001, which certifies that Google complies with in­ter­na­tion­al standards for IT security, are intended to remove such concerns. Nev­er­the­less, the NSA affair, in par­tic­u­lar, proved that secret services have no problem gaining access to data at server locations.

Ad­di­tion­al­ly, Google’s data pro­tec­tion reg­u­la­tions are not com­plete­ly trans­par­ent. This suggests that Google intends on retaining certain freedoms – after all, the pro­cess­ing of user data is Google’s largest business pillar. This regularly calls on data pro­tec­tion experts.

It is also important that you pay attention to data security within your own company. Although a one-time login may be practical, it does not pose a major hurdle for hackers. If the password is hacked or ac­ci­den­tal­ly falls into the wrong hands, a lot of data is visible because it is all connected on Google Workspace. For increased security, Google al­ter­na­tive­ly offers multi-level au­then­ti­ca­tion and other security features. The admin account allows users to change their cre­den­tials at any time. Mobile device man­age­ment lets you back up data from mobile devices in the event one is lost. In some cases, Google Workspace also allows you to integrate external security tools. This applies, for example, to Gmail, where you can also use your own cer­tifi­cates for S/MIME en­cryp­tion of e-mail cor­re­spon­dence.

It is also necessary in­ter­nal­ly to keep things private across different de­part­ments and levels, and to ad­di­tion­al­ly protect par­tic­u­lar­ly con­fi­den­tial data, es­pe­cial­ly personal data of customers and employees. To ensure this, you can define, for example, in­di­vid­ual access rights for each user so that not everyone can view, edit, and download all documents.

The Google Workspace provides ad­min­is­tra­tors with many options. Ad­min­is­tra­tors can store employee chat logs and manage user accounts and personal data. Google Workspace claims to comply with EU data pro­tec­tion re­quire­ments. Nev­er­the­less, it is advisable to have a legal expert check whether your own use of the platform complies with the GDPR. In addition, there are companies that have agreed their own con­trac­tu­al clauses with Google regarding data pro­cess­ing.

A cloud-based work platform that combines different ap­pli­ca­tions ensures a better workflow.

• Better overview: The Google Workspace makes it easier to co­or­di­nate all work processes and to keep track of meetings, deadlines, and work progress. This saves a lot of time, es­pe­cial­ly for larger teams and when external parties are involved. A platform that unites different co­or­di­nat­ed ap­pli­ca­tions ensures that all employees are up-to-date. The search function makes it possible to quickly extract relevant in­for­ma­tion from large amounts of data stored in the cloud.
• Simple ad­min­is­tra­tion: There is a central location for ad­min­is­tra­tors that does not require ad­di­tion­al con­fig­u­ra­tion files. Because every­thing runs on a cloud, ad­min­is­tra­tors don’t have to manage accounts and licenses for multiple ap­pli­ca­tions dis­trib­uted across multiple servers. There are also various options for eval­u­at­ing, con­trol­ling, and managing access rights.
• Easy to use: One log-in is all it takes to access all Google Workspace tools and documents. Real-time updates eliminate the need to update multiple files and share them with col­leagues. Since most apps such as chat and the word pro­cess­ing features are similar to well-known Microsoft ap­pli­ca­tions, and Gmail is widely used, the Google Workspace is quite easy and com­pli­ca­tion-free to unroll across companies. In most cases, it should not be necessary to train employees in using the Google Workspace. There are also many options for trans­fer­ring data generated by other services to the Google platform.
• In­te­gra­tion of external tools: Whether data migration or function expansion tools, the Google Workspace is com­pat­i­ble with numerous external services. These include customer re­la­tion­ship systems as well as ac­count­ing programs. A list of the in­te­grat­ed programs can be found on Google Workspace Mar­ket­place. Ad­di­tion­al­ly, the Google Workspace is com­pat­i­ble with numerous Office ap­pli­ca­tions: a text created with Google Docs can be saved as a Word document without any problems. This is a major plus for Google Workspace. Those who miss the func­tion­al range of Office ap­pli­ca­tions do not have to do without them, but should consider whether Microsoft 365 alone is worth more than a solution in­te­grat­ed into Google Workspace. And finally, you can also integrate internal company de­vel­op­ments via an interface.

Sub­scribers can choose between three different models. These differ mostly in the scope of services they offer. The more functions available, the higher the price. However, sometimes, even the most basic version can meet a company’s re­quire­ments. In any case, it is worth comparing the different versions with one another.

• Google Workspace Basic: The basic version currently costs $5 a month per user (as of November 2018). It includes the most important ap­pli­ca­tions like video con­fer­enc­ing and a word pro­cess­ing program. Fewer functions are only available for ad­min­is­tra­tion purposes. Ad­di­tion­al­ly, 30 GB of cloud storage is included.
• Google Workspace Business: This costs $10 a month. The advantage to this is the almost unlimited storage space. Up to five users can use a maximum of 1 TB each. Ad­di­tion­al features include things such as archiving, activity tracking, as well as a low-code platform for de­vel­op­ing apps.
• Google Workspace En­ter­prise: The premium version costs $25 per month. It is best suited for companies that require special functions for data pro­tec­tion and ad­min­is­tra­tion. In this area, it has sig­nif­i­cant­ly more options than the Business version.

If you choose the annual tariff, the Google Workspace pricing will be slightly less, however, you will be bound to the Google Workspace for a minimum of one year. The annual fee is payable as a monthly in­stal­ment. If a team is reduced in size, the number of users can only be reduced after the annual sub­scrip­tion has expired. Therefore, this tariff model is more suitable for companies with a constant number of employees. The flexible tariffs provide more leeway and flex­i­bil­i­ty, allowing you to add or remove users as you wish so you will only be charged for the current number of users. This billing model is the better choice, es­pe­cial­ly for companies with higher employee turnover. You also have the option of can­celling at any time.

Nonprofit or­ga­ni­za­tions can get free access to the platform and ed­u­ca­tion­al in­sti­tu­tions can enjoy sig­nif­i­cant­ly reduced costs. "Google Workspace for non­prof­its" and "Google Workspace for Education" are subject to several con­di­tions.