A lot of businesses use a Gmail.com account as their means of emailing and potentially collaborating on documents. Whilst this may seem like it’s working well at the moment and you may be wondering why you should upgrade to Google Workspace (formerly G Suite), but, your organisational size and needs may change and the time may come where you decide to improve the way you operate.

Upgrading to a paid Google Workspace account could well be the way to enhance the way you work. There’s various benefits to using Workspace (G Suite) instead of a basic Gmail account varying from your own personalised email address to increased security and control over your data. We’ve decided to shine a torch on some of the key benefits of making the upgrade, outlining why you should upgrade to Google Workspace.

Branding

Branding is a vital part of any organisation, shaping your customers’ perception of you. This perception can stem from lots of different factors; logo, perceived quality of product, quality of customer service and many more. There are simple ways to bolster this image to promote quality and trust with potential customers. An example of this is through your email address. In the eyes of the consumer, companies with ‘@gmail.com’ email addresses appear small and unprofessional. Upgrading to a paid Google Workspace (G Suite) account gives you the ability to use your company’s domain at the end of your email address - for example, ‘info@yourdomain’. Doing this will greatly improve the likelihood of customers responding to emails as the account looks far more professional and trustworthy. Not only does it benefit the consumer, but it also benefits you, ensuring consistency in your branding.

Security/data control

When using Google Workspace (formerly G Suite), it’s also important to note some of the increased security and data control options at your disposal:

• Shared Drives - in Workspace Business and Workspace Enterprise, you get access to a more secure way to control and provide access to company files. Provide people with more granular levels of access such as Content Manager or Contributor to ensure that people only have the abilities required to do their job.
• Reporting & Auditing - there are a number of excellent tools in the admin console for Workspace that allow you to get insights into the usage of tools across your domain. For example, the email log search allows you to check the delivery status of emails, current assigned labels and message location of any email sent or received by your domain.
• You Own Your Data - Google doesn’t collect or scan data for advertising purposes in Workspace, only indexing data to provide beneficial services such as spam filtering or virus detection. All of your Workspace data is fully encrypted at rest and in transit.

Ensuring your data is safe and secure is another reason why you should upgrade to Google Workspace, due to its best in class security.

Device Management

Another reason to upgrade to a paid Google Workspace (G Suite) account is being able to manage the devices being used with your package. The 2 ways in which this is done is through Mobile Device Management and Chrome Device Management. 

• Mobile Device Management - allows users to have greater control and security over data. If in place, it ensures that corporate data is safe, requiring mobile devices to a screen lock or password and can wipe all corporate data from the phone if the device is lost or stolen. You can also make your preferred work apps available to Android devices whilst also publishing and distributing private apps.
• Chrome device management - as an IT admin for a business, you can manage Chromebooks, Chromeboxes and other Chrome hardware, from a cloud-based Admin console. Enforce policies, set up Chrome features for users, provide access to your internal VPNs and Wi-Fi networks, force install Chrome apps and extensions, and more.
• Endpoint Verification - this can be used to manage devices outwith the Google ecosystem for example Windows or Mac OS devices. This permits you to see all information on devices that have access to your organization’s data via Chrome Web Browser. Giving administrators access to information such as device type accessing data, user and the OS. In addition, administrators are able to remotely wipe devices which are lost or stolen. You can also control access to data for specific devices based on ‘any criteria’.

For users on the Enterprise tier, it’s in the pipeline that Windows devices can also be monitored and managed using the Google admin console. This is another way in which Google Workspace places your company’s security as a top priority, whilst also giving you control over your devices.

3rd Party Tools

Google Workspace’s core apps (e-mail, calendar, file storage) are great for allowing your business and workforce to perform at the peak of its capabilities. Moreover, another benefit of upgrading to Workspace Business is the availability of 3rd party tools. These tools work intrinsically with the core Workspace apps increasing their functionality to meet your business’ needs. 

For example, Hiver is a Gmail shared inbox solution that helps teams collaborate on generic email id’s like support@, operations@. Hiver sits right on top of Gmail and gives every email that comes into team inboxes an owner and a status, ensuring nothing slips through the cracks.

There are many more of these tools which can help boost the functionality of these core apps.

Additional Features

In addition to benefits previously listed, Google Workspace (G Suite) accounts have even more additional features which can really improve the way your business works.

One of these great additional features Workspace offers is greatly increased storage capacity for Gmail messages, Google Photos, and files in Drive. This is really helpful for companies, negating the need to worry about lack of storage for data.

Google Chat & Meet

Another feature which could truly transform the way in which your business communicates is being able to take advantage of Google Meet and Google Chat. These are both Google Workspace (G Suite) tools aimed around optimising the ability to communicate and collaborate on tasks, regardless of location.

Google Meet - Meet is fully integrated with Workspace, allowing you to join meetings directly from a Calendar event or email invite. All the important event details are right there when you need them, whether you're joining from a laptop, phone or the conference room.

Google Chat - A messaging tool which makes it easy for tools to get work done in one place. From direct conversations to group messaging, Chat can aid in collaboration in an easy to use, efficient manner. Users can take advantage of virtual rooms to house projects over time - plus threaded conversations. Chat makes tracking progress and follow up tasks easy.

Summary

Overall, moving from a standard ‘Gmail.com’ account and upgrading to a paid Google Workspace (G Suite) account could hugely benefit your organisation in many ways. If you upgrade to Workspace, it will boost the perception of your company amongst customers but it allows you to work in a smarter, more collaborative and innovative manner.

If you want your own domain as your email, pop your email down below and we'll sort you out!