The G movement: G Suite to Google Workspace

Google recently announced that it is rebranding what many have come to know as G Suite into something that embodies its concept of work and collaboration — Google Workspace.

For students and employees who have been working and living in the cloud the past few years, G Suite includes the complete set of productivity apps such as Gmail, Calendar, Drive, Docs, Sheets, Slides, Meet, and more. Now, with the shift to Google Workspace, it goes beyond a simple name change, but provides more collaborations, stronger identity, and more options for different work preferences.

Here’s a quick rundown of just how innovative Google Workspace really is:

Integrated User Experience. Working sessions be it in the office or for a group project would require at least two or three Google apps open and active to ensure that there is indeed real-time collaboration. With this new update, a group can now create a document within a chat and collaborate on the spot in a single window or tab, without having to provide external links or splitting screens and what not.

Not only that, Google also intends to roll out a more interactive way of doing brainstorms, which is Meet picture-in-picture. Soon to be available on Docs, Sheets, and Slides, this new feature will allow collaborators to not just work in the same file, but actually see and talk to one another in real-time.

Stronger Brand Identity. While it seems that Google has already outdone themselves completely, a transformation isn’t complete if it’s just from within. Along with the rebrand to Google Workspace, the tech giant is also strengthening its branding game by applying a more streamlined and consistent iconography to their already practical designs.

Getting Started with Flexibility. With startups sprouting left and right across the globe, they are also inhabiting the digital space and are probably using G Suite. With Google Workspace, smaller businesses can now afford to have for their own space in the cloud without breaking the bank. Meantime, editions for bigger enterprises are designed to provide technical assistance for more complex operations and implementations.

With Google Workspace coming in, we’ve consulted with our resident tech expert Jeff Enriquez on how this transition will impact businesses who have been using G Suite in their day-to-day operations. “The biggest impact is in the area of accessibility and integration that Google did for it’s Workspace apps. For example, you can now access Meet for Gmail without opening another tab on Chrome. Another improvement that Google announced recently that I liked most is the preview of documents linked to the current documents you are working on.”

Enriquez added, “This improvement will strengthen collaborations more within organizations regardless of their employees’ locations. I also look forward to seeing the new cost structures that Google will introduce for small and medium businesses, and if they have a cost option that will be beneficial with our own organization, especially in this time of pandemic.”

Life as we know it has already changed because of this pandemic, but with Google, we can only expect things to continue evolving and like any digital native, we’ll all be there to witness it.

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