Formerly known as G Suite and Google Apps, this comprehensive guide outlines the essential features of Google Workspace for organizations.
Google Workspace is a set of communication and collaboration apps built for people in organizations. The core Google Workspace communication apps, such as Gmail and Google Meet, are widely used around the world, as are the collaboration apps, such as Google Docs, Sheets, Slides and Forms. The collaboration apps have been built from the beginning to allow multiple people to edit a document, spreadsheet or presentation simultaneously.
Google Workspace accounts are created and managed by an administrator, in contrast to the standard free Gmail or Google accounts that an individual may create. The administrator has considerable control over Google Workspace defaults, app access and security settings. Workspace allows different configurations to be applied to different groups of people — or, in Workspace terms, different organizational units.
Google Workspace can be configured to serve organizations that deal with highly sensitive data as well. For example, an administrator may prevent offline storage of Workspace data, such as email, calendar items and Drive files.
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The following apps are available as part of the core offering for most editions of Google Workspace. For more details about each app, click the link name to go to the corresponding Google Workspace page.
One important aspect of Workspace apps is speed. Google offers .new shortcuts, which, when entered in a modern browser’s URL box, create a new item of the type indicated. For example, cal.new creates a new Google Calendar event, while doc.new creates a new Google Doc.
The following offerings are not prominently featured as core Workspace apps but are often available, depending on the edition of Google Workspace you use. In some cases, these require additional purchases.
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On desktop platforms, such as Windows and macOS, Google Workspace apps may be accessed with a modern web browser. In most cases, organizations that use Workspace will also want to standardize on the Google Chrome browser. Signing in to your Workspace account with the Chrome browser not only gives you access to Workspace apps but also lets you leverage some Chrome-only features.
For example, if an administrator allows it, people may configure Gmail, Docs, Sheets and Slides to sync locally for offline work. Many other modern browsers, such as Microsoft Edge, Firefox Browser and Safari, let people use most Google Workspace app features while online.
SEE: Become a Google Docs power user with this free PDF from TechRepublic.
For Windows and macOS systems, Google offers Google Drive for Desktop (formerly Google Drive File Stream), which lets people browse Drive files and folders with a locally installed app. This makes the experience of navigating items stored on Drive much like navigating the local file system.
Several Google Workspace apps are available to be installed on Android, iOS and iPadOS systems. For example, Gmail, Calendar, Drive, Docs, Sheets, Slides, Meet, Chat and Keep may be downloaded and installed either from Google Play (Android) or the iOS App Store (Apple).
Note: Currently, no mobile apps exist for either Google Sites or Google Forms; although, websites or forms created by those apps do work well on mobile devices.
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Many organizations that use Google Workspace choose to purchase related items, such as Chromebooks, Google Meet hardware, Jamboard devices or Google Voice phone equipment. These devices and their related services may be connected to your organization’s Workspace account to be configured by a Workspace administrator.
Chromebooks and other Chrome OS devices in various formats, such as tablets or 2-in-1s, allow people to sign in with a Google Workspace account, then gain full access to all Workspace apps. Most modern Chromebooks can run Android apps, many run Linux apps and a few higher-end devices run Windows apps with the aid of third-party software. Chrome Enterprise controls lets an administrator fully manage and deploy Chrome and Chrome devices.
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Google differentiates Workspace editions by number of accounts, customer organization type and capabilities.
First, the Business editions are only available for organizations that need up to 300 user accounts. Organizations that need more than 300 accounts should contact Google to explore Enterprise editions. If you want Workspace for a single user, you might consider Google Workspace Individual, but you could select any Business or Enterprise edition.
Second, some editions are only available to specific types of organizations, such as nonprofit and educational organizations.
Third, storage limits, Meet limits on participant numbers and recording, management capabilities for security configuration and reports, and access to certain apps tend to increase as you move from Starter to Standard to Plus editions.
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Pricing varies, based on both your organization and the Google Workspace edition. For example, educational institutions and nonprofit organizations may qualify to use some editions of Workspace for free, although these organizations may choose to upgrade to paid versions for enhanced capabilities and controls.
Below is a list of the editions offered; for more detailed pricing information, check out Google’s pricing page. Beyond the editions listed, Google promotes Google Workspace for Government, Google Workspace for healthcare and Google Workspace for retail businesses.
Priced at $9.99 per month, or $99.96 when paid annually, Google’s Individual edition includes booking services and email marketing, along with access to the core Workspace apps.
Google Workspace Individual makes sense when one person wants Workspace apps and does not need to add or manage any additional accounts. For example, the Individual edition would make sense for a person’s part-time side business or for a solo entrepreneur.
Most smaller organizations will choose one of these three plans:
The key differences between the plans include:
For more details about storage differences between plans, see Google Workspace storage: 3 essential things you need to know.
SEE: Use this side-by-side analysis from TechRepublic Premium to compare Google Workspace versus Microsoft 365.
Organizations that need more than 300 accounts will need an Enterprise edition, which provides access to more technical security and management controls along with essentially unlimited storage.
Smaller organizations that want access to these features are eligible to sign up for an Enterprise edition, as there’s no minimum number of user accounts required for either Enterprise Standard or Enterprise Plus accounts. However, these features typically are most useful in organizations with greater numbers of people and devices.
Google does not provide published pricing for these editions, so you’ll need to contact their sales staff.
You can keep your current emails and calendaring solution, such as Microsoft 365, and add Google Workspace Essentials. This lets people in your organization collaborate with Docs, Sheets, Forms, Slides, Meet, Sites and Keep, which they may use alongside legacy solutions.
Essentials Starter may be used by up to 25 people in an organization for free.
Designed to enable communications between frontline workers and other employees, the Frontline edition includes access to core Workspace apps, such as Gmail, Calendar, Chat, Meet, Docs, Sheets, Slides and Sites, as well as endpoint management features to secure data on mobile devices. Storage, however, is limited to 2GB per account.
Google does not publish pricing for Frontline edition, and requires potential customers to contact sales.
Qualifying institutions, such as K-12 schools as well as colleges and universities, may apply to access Google Workspace for Education Fundamentals for free. This not only gives students, teachers, administration and staff access to Workspace collaborations apps but also includes access to Google Classroom.
The Google Classroom app provides a structured way for teachers to share lessons with students, for students to complete and turn in work, and for teachers to grade and give feedback on that work.
The Education editions offered include:
SEE: Use these Google Classroom tips from TechRepublic to learn how to create and manage classes remotely.
Organizations that apply and qualify can use Google Workspace for Nonprofits at no cost, which is essentially the Google Workspace Starter Edition. However, Google also gives nonprofit organizations the ability to upgrade to other editions at a significant discount. Plans and pricing for qualified and approved nonprofit organizations include:
There are at least three reasons to upgrade to a paid Google Workspace account, instead of simply using a free Gmail account:
For a new organization, go to Google Domains to purchase the domain name of your choice. Once you have registered your domain name, the system offers the option to select and set up Google Workspace accounts for the domain. This method eliminates several domain name server configuration steps you would otherwise need to do manually.
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Yes. Google Workspace includes several features to support organizations that have files in Microsoft Office file formats. Google Drive supports storage of many types of files, including .doc/.docx, .xls/.xlsx and .ppt/.pptx. Google Drive for desktop lets you open and edit these files with locally installed Office software, if you like.
Google Docs, Sheets and Slides support native editing of and collaboration on Word, Excel and PowerPoint files, respectively. Gmail also lets you quickly save, open or edit Office file attachments you might receive, as well.
When you want additional apps that work with Workspace, your first stop should be The Google Workspace Marketplace — a directory of third-party apps maintained by Google. Among hundreds of others, these apps include:
Workspace also includes the ability to connect to third-party apps with single sign-on and Security Assertion Markup Language. This allows people in your organization to sign in to their Workspace account, then gain access to connected third-party web apps without any additional need to authenticate. In some cases, the system can be configured to automatically add a new account at a third-party service whenever a new Google Workspace account is created. The Pre-integrated SAML apps catalog lists the various vendors that offer this type of integration.
Microsoft 365 offers a similarly broad, enterprise-management friendly set of collaboration and communication tools. Microsoft Exchange, Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Teams remain as standard applications used in many organizations. Other much less commonly adopted alternatives to Google Workspace include Zoho Workplace, Nextcloud and KolabNow.
Individuals who don’t need the organizational email and account management capabilities but wish to work on documents might consider alternatives to Docs, Sheets and Slides, such as LibreOffice or CryptPad. And those who use Apple devices should explore Apple’s iWork apps like Pages, Numbers and Keynote.
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As a consultant, Andy helps nonprofit organizations understand and leverage technology. He taught the Nonprofit and Government Technology class for Grand Valley State University's Public Administration program for several years.
