G Suite

G Suite
Developer(s) Google
Initial release August 28, 2006 (2006-08-28) (as Google Apps for Your Domain)
Development status Active
Platform Gmail, Calendar, Hangouts, Drive, Docs, Sheets, Slides, Sites, Jamboard and Vault.
Type Brand and software suite
License Trialware (Retail, volume licensing, SaaS)
Website gsuite.google.com

G Suite (formerly Google Apps for Work and Google Apps for Your Domain) is a brand of cloud computing, productivity and collaboration tools, software and products developed by Google, launched on 28 August 2006. It includes Google’s popular web applications including Gmail, Drive, Hangouts, Calendar, and Docs.[1] It also includes the interactive whiteboard Jamboard.

While these products are included for consumers, G Suite adds enterprise features such as custom email addresses at a domain (@yourcompany.com), 30GB+ of storage for documents and email, and 24/7 phone and email support.[2] Being cloud-based, the service also hosts customer information in Google’s network of data centers,[3] rather than traditional in-house servers located within companies.[4]

According to Google, more than 5 million organizations use the service worldwide, including 60% of Fortune 500 companies.[5]

History

Products

The range of G Suite products and services comprises Gmail, Calendar, Drive, Hangouts, Docs, Sheets, Slides, Forms, Sites, Google+, Jamboard and Vault. With the exception of Google Apps Vault,[33] all are included in the basic plan, which costs $5 per user per month or $50 per user per year. A premium package, Drive for Work, includes Google Apps Vault plus unlimited storage is available for $10 per user per month.[34]

Gmail

Launched in a limited rollout on April 1, 2004, Gmail is now the most popular web email service in the world.[35] It became open to all consumers in 2007. As of May 2015, 900 million people use Gmail, according to Google.[36]

The free consumer version of Gmail is supported by text ads related to the contents of people’s email messages.[37] Popular features include 15 GB of free storage, threaded conversations, robust search capabilities, and an app-like interface.[38]

While similar to the free version, Gmail in G Suite adds a number of features designed for business users.[39]

These include:

Google Drive

Google’s file storage and synchronization service was released on April 24, 2012,[41] at least six years after rumors about the product first began circulating.[42] Google’s official announcement described Google Drive as “a place where you can create, share, collaborate, and keep all of your stuff.”[41]

With Google Drive, users can upload any type of files to the cloud, share them with others, and access them from any computer, tablet, or smartphone. Users can easily sync files between their computer and the cloud with a desktop application for Mac and PC. This app puts a special folder on their computer and all changes made to files sync across Drive, on the web and across devices. The consumer version of Google Drive includes 15 GB of storage shared across Gmail, Drive and Google+ Photos.[43]

When offered as part of G Suite, Google Drive comes with additional features designed for business use. These include:

Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Forms

Google Apps includes online editors for creating text documents or document file format, spreadsheets, presentations, and surveys.[45] The set of tools was first released on October 11, 2006, as Google Docs & Spreadsheets.[46]

Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Forms work within any web browser or on any web-enabled mobile devices. Documents, spreadsheets, presentations, and surveys can be shared, commented on, and co-edited in real time. Additional features include unlimited revision history that keep all changes safe in one place and offline access that lets people work on their documents without internet connection.[47]

On June 25, 2014, Google introduced native editing for Microsoft Office files in Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides.[48] Echoing similar remarks in other articles, a Mashable journalist wrote, “Google is clearly positioning its apps as a more affordable solution for companies that need to occasionally edit Office files.”[49]

Google Sites

Introduced on February 28, 2008, Google Sites allows people to create and edit web pages even if they are not familiar with HTML or web design.[50] People can build sites from scratch or with templates, upload content such as photos and videos,[50] and control access permissions by choosing who can view and edit each page.[51]

Google Sites launched as part of the paid Google Apps suite but soon became available to consumers as well. Business customers use Google Sites to build project sites, company intranets, and public-facing sites.[52]

Google Calendar

Designed to integrate with Gmail, Google’s online calendar service launched to consumers on April 13, 2006. It uses the iCal standard to work with other calendar applications.[53]

Google’s online calendar is an integrated online, shareable calendar designed for teams.[54] Businesses can create specific team calendars and share them company wide.[55] Calendars can be delegated to another person to manage a specific calendar and events.[56] People can also use Google Calendar to see if meeting rooms or shared resources are free, and add them to events.

Helpful features of Google Calendar include:

Google Hangouts

On May 15, 2013, Google announced that a new text, voice, and video chat tool would replace its Google Talk, Google Voice, and Google+ Hangouts services.[57] Known as Google Hangouts, it allows up to 10 people for the consumer version and up to 15 people for the work version to join conversations from their computer or mobile device.[58] Participants can share their screens, and view and work on things together.[59] The Hangouts On Air service lets people stream live broadcasts to Google+, YouTube, and their websites.[60]

The version of Hangouts included with G Suite[61] supports up to 15 participants, and administrators can choose to restrict Hangouts to only people on the same domain, limiting the access of external participants.[62]

The Hangouts app keeps messages stored online in Google’s cloud, and offers an option to toggle off history if people want to go off the record.[63] And the Google+ integration saves every photo people share with each other in a private, shared album on Google+.[63]

On July 30, 2014, Google announced that all Google Apps customers will have access to Hangouts, including those without a Google+ profile.[64] Google also partnered to integrate with other video chat providers - like Blue Jeans Network and Intercall.[65] Google also announced that Hangouts is covered under the same Terms of Service as other G Suite products like Gmail and Drive. Apps for Work customers also get 24/7 phone support for Hangouts, 99.9% guaranteed uptime, and ISO27001 and SOC 2 certification.[66]

On December 19, 2014, Google announced via Google+ post that they brought back one of the most requested features for Hangouts in Gmail. The Apps admins have control to keep status messages to be only visible internally.[67]

Google+

Google’s social networking service, Google+, launched on June 28, 2011, in an invitation-only field trial.[68] Observers declared it Google’s latest attempt to challenge social giant Facebook.[69] While Google+ has since overtaken Twitter to become the world’s second largest social network after Facebook,[70] it has been criticized for disappointing users and failing to generate referral traffic.[71]

On October 27, 2011, Google announced that Google+ was available for people who use Google Apps at college, work and home.[72]

On August 29, 2012, Google announced that after receiving feedback from business customers that participated in a pilot program, they tailored Google+ features for organizations. These features include private sharing within organizations and administrative controls that restrict the visibility of profiles and posts.[73]

On November 5, 2013, Google added an extra layer of security for restricted communities that could only be joined by people in an organization. Administrators have the option to set restricted communities by default and choose when people outside of the organization can join.[74]

Google+ as a business network received mixed reviews from having features that help small businesses get noticed online[75] to confusing people over its branding[76] to being an important player in social marketing strategy for businesses.[77] Many online articles emphasize that having a Google+ presence helps businesses with their Google search result rankings since Google+ posts and shares are immediately indexed by Google.[78]

Google Vault

Google Vault, an archiving and electronic discovery service exclusively available to Google Apps customers, was announced on March 28, 2012.[79] Vault allows customers to find and preserve email messages and on-the-record Hangout chats that may be relevant to litigation. It also helps them manage business data for continuity, compliance, and regulatory purposes.[80] As of June 25, 2014, Vault customers can also search, preview, and export Google Drive files.[81]

Google Apps Vault is included as part of Drive for Work with unlimited storage, available for $10 per user per month.[82]

Pricing

When prospective customers sign up for G Suite, they get a free 30-day trial for up to 10 users.[83] After the trial, they may choose either an annual plan at $50 per user per year or a flexible plan at $5 per user per month or $60/year. Both plans are billed on a monthly basis.[34]

With the flexible plan, customers have the option of adding unlimited storage and Google Apps Vault for a total monthly cost of $10 per user. For organizations with fewer than five users, storage is capped to 1TB per user with this option.[34]

Google Apps for Education, however, provides an unlimited amount of accounts per domain, with an unlimited amount of storage per account.[84]

Security

Google has stated that they do not own the customer’s data. The data is stored in Google’s data centers, and access is limited to select employees and personnel.[85] They do not share data with others, will only keep data as long as required by the customer, and customers can take the data if they migrate off Google Apps.[86]

Google Apps offers enterprise-grade security and compliance, including a 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).[87] Google claims that spam blockers are integrated into Google Apps with built-in virus checking and checking of documents before allowing users to download any message.[85]

Google ensures that all files uploaded to Google Drive are encrypted, and that every email sent or received is encrypted when being moved internally between data centers.[88] In a blog post, Google for Work stated that they offer strong contractual commitments to protect customer's information and they do not show advertisements or scan customer information for advertising.[88]

Usage

Google Apps claims that over five million businesses are using their tools, either the free or the paid version.[89] According to Google for Work President Amit Singh, 60% of Fortune 500 companies are using Google for Work services.[90] Customers range across industries around the globe including Uber,[91] AllSaints,[92] BuzzFeed,[93] Design Within Reach,[94] Virgin, PwC[95] and more. Many of the customers using Apps are featured on the Apps customer page.[96] As of July 2016, it trails, the more dominant competitor, Office 365[97]

Google resellers and referrers

Google has an ecosystem of resellers that help prospects get up and running on Apps. The Partner directory helps people find partners. On March 10, 2014, Google launched a referral program, that gives referrers $15 for every person who signs up.[98] This program initially debuted for anyone based in the US and Canada. The fine print of the referral program shows that people can refer an unlimited number of customers, but they’re rewarded for each referral customer’s first 100 users.[99]

On December 4, 2014, Google introduced the Google for Work and Education Partner Program which helps partners sell, service and innovate across Google for Work and Education suite of products and platforms.[100]

Google Apps Marketplace

The Google Apps Marketplace launched in 2010 is an online store with business-oriented cloud applications that augment Google Apps functionality.[16] The Marketplace lets administrators browse for, purchase, and deploy integrated business-oriented cloud applications. It is available for Google Apps, G Suite, and Google Apps for Education.[101]

Developers can also develop apps on the Marketplace, and sell apps and services in the Marketplace.[101] On March 6, 2014, Google shared that Google Apps customers have added over 200M installs from the marketplace since the launch of the Marketplace in 2010.

On September 17, 2014, Google released a blog post that employees can install third-party apps from the Marketplace without involving administrators.[102]

Reception

Google Apps has received many positive reviews online with an average of 4-5 stars on a 5 star scale.[103] Reviews praise Google Apps for its competitive pricing, all-inclusive suite offering, easy setup, and working well across devices.[104] Some negative reviews point out that Google Apps, Google Presentations and Google Documents lack the same level of features that provide professional-looking documents made in Powerpoint and Microsoft Word.[104]

Competitors

The key competitor to the Google Apps suite is Microsoft Office 365—Microsoft’s cloud-based offering for businesses that includes similar products. Online reviewers vary as to which is the better offering. Reviews note that Google Apps and Microsoft 365 are similar in ratings but very different in features.

The key differences are in the pricing plans, storage space and number of features. Microsoft 365 tends to have a greater number of features than Google Apps, but many of them often go unused.[105] Google does not release revenue or user figures, making it hard for reviewers to compare Google Apps success to that of Microsoft Office.[106] As of October 2014, Microsoft has 7M customers for the Office 365 product and grew by 25% in the last quarter.[107] Microsoft also announced that it is giving away unlimited storage to customers who buy the cloud version of Microsoft Office 365.[107] [108]Additionally, academic institution that doesn't have Office 365 ProPlus or Office Professional Plus, individual students, faculty members, or staff can pay $79.99 for a four-year subscription to Office 365 University.[108]

There are currently no startups competing with Google Apps suite because the cost to compete on one product, like email, is too high and the revenue opportunity is hard.[107]

With Google Apps’ new SKU, Apps with Unlimited Storage and Vault, Google Apps has attracted new competitors - Box, Dropbox and OneDrive.[109]

Related products

G Suite is part of many other products within Google’s products for work.[26] These include Google Cloud Platform, Search for Work, Maps for Work and Chrome for Work.[110]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Google (2014-12-02). "What's included in Google Apps for Work?". Google. Retrieved 2014-12-02.
  2. ↑ Metz, Cade (2011-10-07). "Chromebook: 'Father of Google Apps' Raises Second Child". Wired. Retrieved 2011-10-07.
  3. ↑ Metz, Cade (2010-03-03). "Article in Mashable". Mashable. Retrieved 2010-03-03.
  4. ↑ Metz, Cade (2014-02-21). "Article in Business Bee". Business Bee. Retrieved 2014-02-21.
  5. ↑ "Article in CNet". Cnet. 2014-09-02. Retrieved 2014-09-02.
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  16. 1 2 "Open for business: the Google Apps Marketplace". Google.
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  18. ↑ "Helping small businesses start and manage Google Apps for Business". Google.
  19. ↑ "Google Apps Vault Brings Information Governance to Google Apps". Google.
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  24. ↑ "Introducing the Google Apps Referral Program: Share a better way of working with customers, friends and networks". Google.
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  26. 1 2 "Introducing Google for Work (the artist formerly known as Enterprise)". Google.
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  34. 1 2 3 "Google Apps for Work Pricing". Google.
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  41. 1 2 "Introducing Google Drive... yes, really". Google.
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  45. ↑ "Google for Work products". Google.
  46. ↑ "Google Announces Google Docs & Spreadsheets". Google.
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  50. 1 2 "Google Sets Its Sites on Google Apps". Google.
  51. ↑ "Google Sites now open to everyone". Google.
  52. ↑ "Learn Google Apps for Work". Google.
  53. ↑ "It's about time". Google.
  54. ↑ "Google Calendar for Work". Google.
  55. 1 2 "Google Calendar for Work". Google.
  56. ↑ "Google Calendar vs. Google Calendar for Business". Chron.
  57. ↑ "Google launches Hangouts, a new unified, cross-platform messaging service for iOS, Android and Chrome". Chron.
  58. ↑ "Google Hangouts". Google.
  59. ↑ "Google+ Hangouts get bigger video player, screen sharing available to all". Chron.
  60. ↑ "Google Hangouts for Work". Google.
  61. ↑ "Making it easier to bring Hangouts to work". Google.
  62. ↑ "Google Plus". Google.
  63. 1 2 "Exclusive: Inside Hangouts, Google's big fix for its messaging mess". The Verge.
  64. ↑ "Google Sends Hangouts to Work, Enhances Chromebox for Meetings". Re/code.
  65. ↑ "Hangouts Now Works Without Google+ Account, Becomes Part Of Google Apps For Business And Gets SLA". Tech Crunch.
  66. ↑ "Even more reasons to meet face-to-face". Google.
  67. ↑ "Custom status messages for Google Hangouts". Google.
  68. ↑ "Introducing the Google+ project: Real-life sharing, rethought for the web". Google.
  69. ↑ "Facebook's Newest Challenger: Google Plus". NPR.
  70. ↑ "Here Is The Little-Known Way Google Juices User Traffic On Google+". Business Insider.
  71. ↑ "Google Plus: three years old and still failing as a social network". ZDNet.
  72. ↑ "Google+ is now available with Google Apps". Google.
  73. ↑ "Private conversations with restricted Google+ communities". Google.
  74. ↑ "Seven Ways to Use Google+ at Work". PC World.
  75. ↑ "Seven Ways to Use Google+ at Work". PC World.
  76. ↑ "Google+ Is Now An Enterprise Social Network? Who Knew?". Forbes.
  77. ↑ "5 Reasons Why Your Business Still Needs Google+". Business 2 Community.
  78. ↑ "3 Ways Google+ Helps Your Business". Business 2 Community.
  79. ↑ "Google Apps Vault Brings Information Governance to Google Apps". Google.
  80. ↑ "Google Apps Vault gets targeted legal holds to let organizations keep specific information in emails". The Next Web.
  81. ↑ "Official Google for Work Blog". Google.
  82. ↑ "Google Apps for Work Pricing".
  83. ↑ "Evaluate Google Apps for Work". Google.
  84. ↑ "Google Apps for Education: Common Questions - Google Apps Administrator Help". support.google.com. Retrieved 2016-07-29.
  85. 1 2 "Google Apps for Work Security". Google.
  86. ↑ "Security and privacy from Google Apps for Work". Google.
  87. ↑ "Google Launches Drive For Work With Unlimited Storage For $10/Month". Tech Crunch.
  88. 1 2 "Data security in 2014: Make it more difficult for others to attack and easier for you to protect". Google.
  89. ↑ "When Google Apps Fails at being a User Directory". Jump Cloud.
  90. ↑ "Google Reboots Its Business Software Operation as 'Google for Work'". Wired.
  91. ↑ "Working on the go gets easier with Google and Uber". Google.
  92. ↑ "Official Google for Work Blog". Google.
  93. ↑ "Google Apps and Drive feed the buzz at BuzzFeed". Google.
  94. ↑ "Google Apps is the Perfect Fit for Design Within Reach". Google.
  95. ↑ "PwC and Google: bringing transformation to work". Google.
  96. ↑ "Google Apps for Work Customers". Google.
  97. ↑ http://finance.yahoo.com/news/alphabets-push-dominance-office-support-210301744.html
  98. ↑ "Google Apps for Work Partern Referral". Google.
  99. ↑ "Google launches referral program for Google Apps, offers $15 for each new user you convince to sign up". The Next Web.
  100. ↑ "Introducing the Google for Work & Education Partner Program". Google.
  101. 1 2 "Google Apps Marketplace overview". Google.
  102. ↑ "Google Apps Marketplace: to administrators and beyond". Google.
  103. ↑ "Spiceworks Google Apps". Spiceworks.
  104. 1 2 "Can Google's online offering deliver the tools you need to get things done?". Tech Radar.
  105. ↑ "10 comparisons between Google Apps and Office 365". Tech Republic.
  106. ↑ "Google to offer schools, students unlimited storage for free". CNet.
  107. 1 2 3 "Microsoft Just Made Its Google Apps Killer Much More Attractive". Business Insider.
  108. 1 2 "Microsoft: Free Office 365 for Students". Questechie.
  109. ↑ "OneDrive, Dropbox, Google Drive, and Box: Which cloud storage service is right for you?". CNet.
  110. ↑ "Google for Work solutions". Google.

Further reading

External links

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