Google’s G Suite, where you will find business tools such as Gmail and Google Docs, has received a major update. Not only is the G Suite called differently now, namely Google Workspace, there are also some new functions. This has changed.
In Workspace you will still find your favorite tools such as Gmail, Calendar, Drive, Docs, Sheets, Slides and Meet, but Google wants to create a more ‘integrated user experience’ with the update. In concrete terms, it means that you can more easily use the different tools together. For example, you can use shared calendars to see when others are available and schedule meetings with automatic email invitations.
Collaborate
Plus, it’s easier to collaborate with colleagues in real time on documents, spreadsheets and performance across all your devices, whether you’re online or offline. It also becomes easier to work on documents with, for example, external partners or customers. From now on you will find the edits of others in one overview and the changes are tracked in real time. If someone is working on a document, you can immediately see what he or she is typing. You can discuss all changes to a document via a new built-in chat function.
In the coming months, Google is also expanding the picture-in-picture functionality within Meet to Docs, Sheets and Slides. This way you can see and hear your colleagues with whom you are working on a document, spreadsheet or presentation.
The function with which you can ‘tag’ someone in a document has also been expanded. From now on, if you type @ in combination with a contact person, you will see more detailed details about that person (such as contact details) and Google will also give tips to supplement your document.
More functions to come
In principle, Workspace is immediately available to all existing G Suite customers, but not all new features are immediately available at launch. Google has also announced that Workspace will soon be made available to consumers, for example to set up a group for neighbors or family members.
“When we had most products under development ten years ago, they were developed as individual apps that responded to one specific need. But over time, the overlap between the different apps became smaller and smaller, ”said Javier Soltero, vice president of Google Workspace. “The new Google Workspace is a reflection of this integrated experience.”
With Workspace, Google also wants to respond to the current challenges in the corona crisis, in which many are forced to work from home. “A certain office culture has come to an end. From now on, employees must be able to work in teams, without having to see each other in real life, in order to focus on the most important tasks, ”says Soltero.
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