On the 6th of October 2020, a blog post from Google paired with social media activity, press releases and everything else you can imagine helped to pave the way for the launch of G Suite’s new incarnation - Google Workspace.

Change can be hard (we're experts at managing it) and it can cause a lot of uncertainty and unnecessary stress. This change is no different. However, we’re here to provide clarity and explain all you need to know about Google Workspace - the home of all of your favourite G Suite tools, with even more power!

Branding Change

With a new, invigorated Google Workspace comes all new icons. The new icons serve to deeper align with the Google brand image, taking on Google’s core colours to create a vibrant and engaging image. They help to demonstrate Google’s constant innovation and the blending of colours also help show how Google Workspace fosters collaboration, with key tools being deeply integrated.

All Users: Connected

As alluded to above, the new icons for Google Workspace (G Suite) help to bolster how integrated the user experience is. So let’s delve into just how integrated this is!

Gmail, your one-stop-shop for communication

We’ll start where most people start their days: Gmail. You’ve just clocked on and are wanting to check your emails before you begin to start your activities for the day. You’re needing approval from a colleague so you can continue the task at hand. So you go out of Gmail and into Chat, and you send them a message. They reply, they’re suggesting a quick video call. So you go off Chat and into Google Meet. Surely this could be more efficient? Well, now it is. In the new and improved Gmail, users are able to message in Chat, use Google Voice, browse their emails and even start calls on Google Meet all from the one place.

Docs and Chat, integrated in Google Workspace

The launch of Google Workspace has put an even firmer focus on efficiency and making communication, collaboration and productivity as logical as possible. If you’re working from home like we are, our day-to-day lives are closer to our working lives than ever before. With this in mind, there’s a real pressure that we take that extra 30 minutes in the evening to finish a task. And with that you’re left wondering: could we streamline and save 30 minutes in the rest of the day to save you eating into your day-to-day life?

With the integration of collaboration and communication tools alike, it not only seems possible - it is possible. 

Docs and Chat becoming integrated means that you can communicate and collaborate simultaneously. 

This truly demonstrates Google Workspace carrying on G Suite’s hallmarks of real-time collaboration and efficiently communicating to make working easy!

Picture-in-picture video calls in Meet

Another huge update in Google Workspace is being able to see and hear your colleagues whilst working on Docs, Sheets and Slides with the extension of picture-in-picture video calls to these tools. This is another key example of collaboration and communication becoming easier, and even more efficient.

All new options for your organisation

The arrival of Google Workspace has paved the way for even more options for your paid plan. All of the current G Suite tiers still remain in place - until the end of your current deal - but if you're on a flexible plan, you will need to select a new product tier from January 2021. So if you’re wondering which tier would suit your organisation best, get in touch with the Cobry team - we’ve got you covered, or pop your email down below and we'll get back to you in a jiffy!