What is Google Workspace and is It Worth It?

Chances are, you or your team has already used Google’s applications to communicate and collaborate in your business: Gmail for emails, Google Drive to share files and documents, Google Meet for video conferencing, and so on.

Do you know that all of these apps belong to Google Workspace?

What is Google Workspace?

Google Workspace, previously G Suite and even earlier, Google Apps, is Google’s brand for a collection of cloud-based solutions, tools, and products designed for communication, collaboration, and productivity.

There are many different apps and services included in the Google Workspace brand, but the most prominent ones are:

1. Gmail: at the moment, the most popular email client in the world
2. Contacts: contact management service, built-in to Gmail but also available as a standalone mobile app and web app
3. Meet: video conferencing tool, similar to Skype and Zoom
4. Calendar: cloud-based time-management, scheduling, and calendar solution
5. Chat: pretty self-explanatory, team communication solution similar to Slack
6. Currents: internal social network designed for employee engagement
7. Drive: cloud storage solution
8. Docs Suite (Docs, Slide, Sheet): content creation tools

The majority, if not all of these applications and services, are available for totally free, and the free versions are already pretty decent.

However, Google also offers premium, paid editions of Google Workspace with extra services (i.e., Google Vault, data storage, and eDiscovery solution), as well as extra business-focused features for each of the services. Not to mention, Google also offers more advanced data security features and more control with the paid editions.

So, will upgrading to these paid Google Workspace editions be worth it? For the rest of this post, we’ll discuss the reasons why you should (or should not) upgrade to premium Google Workspace.

Let us begin.

How Much Does Google Workspace Cost?

After the rebranding from G Suite to Google Workspace, Google offers four main pricing tiers for paid Google Workspace editions; they are:

1.Business Starter – $6/User/Month

Google Workspace Business Starter is offered for smaller and/or newer companies with limited budgets and offers the following features:

• Custom business email with security features
• 100 video conference participants in Meet
• 30 GB Google Drive cloud storage
• Security and management control features
• Standard support only

2.Business Standard – $12/User/Month

Designed for larger businesses with additional premium features, including:

• Custom business email with security features
• 150 video conference participants in Meet
• 2 TB Google Drive Cloud Storage
• More security and management control features
• Standard support by default,paid upgrade to Enhanced customer support available

3. Business Plus – $18/User/Month

If what’s offered in the Google Workspace Standard edition is still not enough, the Business Plus edition offers more features and capabilities:

• Custom business email with security features, eDiscovery, and retention with Google Vault
• 500 video conference participants in Meet, plus attendance tracking
• 5 TB Google Drive Cloud Storage
• Enhanced security and management control features, including Google Vault and advanced endpoint management
• Standard support by default, or a paid upgrade to Enhanced customer support is available.

4. Enterprise – Custom Pricing

The three Google Workspace Business editions are only available for organizations that don’t need more than 300 user accounts. If you do, then you’ll need to upgrade to the Google Workspace Enterprise edition, where you’ll also get the following extra features:

• Custom business email with security features, eDiscovery, and retention with Google Vault, S/MIME encryption
• 500 video conference participants in Meet, noise cancellation, in-domain live streaming
• Up to unlimited Google Drive Cloud Storage
• Enhanced security and management control features, including Google Vault, advanced enterprise endpoint management, DLP, and data regions
• Enhanced support by default, or a paid upgrade to Premium customer support is available.

How To Upgrade Your Google Workspace

Upgrading to a paid Google Workspace edition is fairly easy, and you can simply follow these steps

1. Open Google Domains here.
2. Get a new domain or select the name of your domain.
3. Click Domain Overview
4. Go to Billing, then click Manage Google Workspace.
5. Click Manage Google Workspace subscription, then click Change.
6. Click Switch
7. Purchase your intended plan

Alternatively, you can also make the upgrade via Google Workspace partners like Pythian

, where you’ll get the same pricing you’d get from Google, but on top of that, you’ll get extra benefits like personalized training and education; custom cloud product development; fast and reliable customer support; and so much more.

Will The Upgrade Going to Be Worth It?

Here are some top reasons to upgrade your Google Workspace edition today:

1. More storage space via Google Drive

As your company grows, you’ll send, receive, and process more data, so you’ll naturally need more storage space.

With paid Google Workspace plans, you’ll get extra Google Drive storage space, up to unlimited space.

Besides storage space, you’ll also get more access control and authentication features on Google Drive, so you can make sure important data is always available for those who need it, and yet you can easily revoke access when this data is no longer essential for their work.

2. Custom branded email via Gmail interface

Gmail, as we know, is the most popular email client available today, especially due to its intuitive interface and ease of use.

With that being said, another key benefit of premium Google Workspace is the fact that your business can use your domain name in your email address, as well as other personalized, branded addresses while using Gmail’s interface and all the robust features of the Gmail client.

3. Centralized management via Admin Console

With Google Workspace Business or Enterprise editions, you’ll gain access to Google’s Admin Console, which gives you a centralized solution to manage data, applications, and users from just a single dashboard.

4. Real-time collaboration features

In paid Google Workspace editions, you’ll gain access to more collaboration and communication features. For example, there are unlimited Google Meet sessions for more participants, and there are also the advanced Team Calendar features that can allow your team members to easily schedule meetings and get automated notifications.

5. Google Vault

Google Vault is an application exclusive to Google Workspace Business or Enterprise editions, which offers a secure way to store important data permanently. 

Google Vault is also an eDiscovery solution, offering a universal search functionality where you can easily and quickly search for any file or data stored within the Vault.

Google Vault also allows your business to easily track employees’ activities when using Google Workspace apps, like their content views, exports, and even searches.

Wrapping Up

So, is upgrading your Google Workspace going to be worth it? 

Ultimately there’s no one-size-fits-all answer, and it will depend on your business’s needs, the number of employees, budget, and other factors.

However, the tips we’ve shared above can provide you with better information so you can make a better decision on whether you should upgrade to paid Google Workspace editions. 

Above anything else, evaluate your business’s needs first and list the must-have Google Workspace features you’ll need to achieve your business objective(s). If many of these must-have features are only available on paid Workspace editions, then the upgrade is going to be worth it.