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Common questions when considering Google Workspace

Already a Google Workspace customer? Go to our support page.

Overview
  • With Google Workspace, you'll receive a number of additional business-grade services which are not included with Google's no-cost consumer apps. These services include: custom business email @yourcompany, twice the amount of cloud storage across Gmail and Drive, 24/7 phone and email support, 99.9% guaranteed uptime on business email, interoperability with Microsoft Outlook, additional security options such as two-step authentication and SSO, and administrative controls for user accounts.

  • No. When you sign up for Google Workspace, you'll gain access to a set of integrated apps that work together seamlessly. For instance, you can receive a message in Gmail and instantly convert it into a Calendar event. When you make a comment in Docs, Sheets, or Slides, collaborators automatically receive email alerts. With a single click, you can join a video meeting in Meet from your inbox or calendar. Using these tools together improves productivity and gives your business the most value. However, you're welcome to purchase the suite and only use the services of your choice.

  • We've found that many of our customers are able to eliminate their existing productivity suites and rely exclusively on Google Workspace to create different kinds of files, including text documents, spreadsheets and presentations. You can work on these files with other people in real time and store them in the cloud with Google Drive. Google Workspace's apps work across devices. Unlike traditional desktop applications, there is no software to install. Google Workspace is also compatible with files created in other programs, such as Microsoft Office.

  • Products
    Gmail
  • Google Workspace now offers various plans tailored to help find the right fit for you. In addition to Gmail for personal use (at no cost), Google Workspace offers Gmail Workspace Individual and Workspace Business accounts at a low cost, and includes upgrades such as increased storage, custom email addresses or professional email layouts to help individuals, teams and businesses stay on top of everything. Learn more here.

  • Yes. A user can have several email addresses by creating email aliases. You can add up to 30 email aliases for each user.

  • Yes. Google Workspace migration tools are available for importing your old emails from legacy environments, such as Microsoft®, IBM® Notes® and other email systems. For more information on the tools available for data migrations into Google Workspace, see Migrate your organisation’s data to Google Workspace .

  • Calendar
  • Yes. You can create a calendar that's accessible to everyone in your organisation (or a subset of users). For example, you might want a group calendar for events like team holidays and regular meetings.

  • Yes. Calendar migration options are available for many types of calendars, including both Microsoft® and IBM®. For more information on the tools available for data migrations into Google Workspace, see Migrate your organisation’s data to Google Workspace . For information on allowing Microsoft Exchange and Google Calendar to work together, examine the Calendar Interop tool. For additional information about syncing Google Calendar and IBM Notes, see Options when migrating from IBM Notes.

  • Yes. By default, Calendar displays a pop-up reminder 10 minutes before an event. You can change reminder times within Calendar's settings.

  • Yes! Anyone with a personal Google Account can create one booking page that allows others to book time with you. Workspace subscribers get access to premium features, including the ability to create an unlimited number of booking pages, collect payment through Stripe, verify booker emails, send email reminders and check multiple calendars for availability.

  • Google Meet product logo
    Meet
  • Absolutely. For the no-cost version of Google Meet, participants can either sign in with a Google Account or be approved by the meeting organiser to join. 

    For Google Workspace customers, once you've created a meeting, you can invite anyone to join even if they don't have a Google Account. Just share the link or meeting ID with all meeting participants.

  • Yes. All video and audio streams in Meet are encrypted. Users can join securely even when they're off site.

  • No. With Google Workspace ’s Enterprise edition, you have the ability to include a phone number and PIN on each of your meetings with no other configuration required. Check the dial-in documentation for further details.

  • Google Drive product logo
    Drive
  • You can upload any type of file to Drive and convert certain types of files to a web-based Google document format: Docs, Sheets or Slides.

  • Google Drive users that don't pay get 15 GB of storage. Storage for Google Workspace customers varies by edition. For details, please visit the Google Workspace pricing page for more information.

  • Google Workspace's Drive provides twice the amount of storage, 24/7 phone and email support, sharing controls and advanced reporting. You can upgrade to unlimited storage (accounts with fewer than five users get 1 TB/user) for an additional fee. See Google Workspace's pricing details for more information.

  • Google Docs product logo
    Docs
  • Yes. This feature is available within a Chrome Browser. If you haven't already, give Chrome a try: it's free of charge and easy to install.

  • Yes. You can change each document's settings to grant anyone who you choose Editor, Viewer or Commenter access.

  • Yes. You can convert many different file types into Docs format. The original file will remain intact.

  • Google Chat product icon
    Chat
  • If you’re a current Google Workspace customer, Chat is available at no cost. Click here to get started straight away.

  • Chat is the newer and preferred platform to use for Google Workspace customers. Admins can easily migrate all classic Hangouts users to Google Chat.

  • For resources on getting started, take a look at our comprehensive guides on the Developer Page.

  • Google Meet product logo
    Meet hardware
  • There are many options for Meet room kits and devices that start at around $2,000. Learn more about Google Meet hardware devices by Avocor, Logitech and Lenovo.

  • The Meet hardware kits come with a set of components designed to deliver the best experience possible. If you would like to use third-party hubs, cables, cameras or speaker-mics, please check our Peripheral Qualification Programme for more details.

  • Yes. The Board 65 and Desk 27 support whiteboarding through integration with the Figjam, LucidSpark and Miro apps.

  • Google Sheets product logo
    Sheets
  • Sheets supports cell formulae typically found in most desktop spreadsheet packages. These formulae can be used to create functions that manipulate data and calculate strings and numbers.

  • Yes. You can convert Microsoft Excel spreadsheets into Google Sheets format or you can directly edit Excel spreadsheets, without having to make a copy. The original file will remain intact.

  • Yes. Many keyboard shortcuts are available for Sheets, and they're always switched on. They are likely similar to many of the shortcuts that you have used before.

  • Google Forms product logo
    Forms
  • No. Anyone can respond to Forms.

  • Yes. The sharing settings for Forms make it easy to control who is able to view and edit your forms.

  • Yes. Forms can handle as much data as Sheets, and Sheets can currently handle two million cells of data. That's a lot of data.

  • Google Slides product logo
    Slides
  • You can draw charts and diagrams, insert objects and shapes, format text and images, enable animations and much more. Learn more here.

  • Yes. You can convert Microsoft PowerPoint presentations into Google Slides format, or you can directly edit PowerPoint presentations, without having to make a copy. The original file will remain intact.

  • Co-editing means that multiple people can work on the same slide at the same time, without having to send versions back and forth. Sharing settings allows you to control who can view and edit a slide, and revision history enables you to revert to earlier versions. Also available in Google Docs and Sheets.

  • Google Sites product logo
    Sites
  • Yes. People outside of your company can access your site, even without a Google Workspace account. You can also opt to restrict access through sharing settings.

  • If your company is using any previous version of Sites, there will be no disruption. Keep editing and sharing your Sites as you have previously.

  • Google can help you purchase a domain through one of our domain host partners. During sign-up, just select the option to 'Buy a new domain'. We'll then guide you through the process to help you set up Google Workspace for your new domain.

  • Google Apps Script product logo
    Apps Script
  • Apps Script makes it easy to automate, integrate and extend Google Workspace. Take a look at some examples at the Solutions Gallery.

  • Yes! Apps Script is available to anyone with a Gmail account.

  • Explore templates for inspiration on how you can solve both common and complex business challenges in the Solutions Gallery, or browse documentation for specifics and take Codelabs to learn more in the Google Workspace Developer Hub.

  • Apps Script has a large online community on Stack Overflow and Google's Apps Script community to help answer any questions that you have along the way.

  • Google Admin product logo
    Admin
  • You can access your Admin console at admin.google.com. Enter your email address and password to sign in, and the console appears.

  • User accounts give people a name and password for signing into Google Workspace, as well as an email address. You can also create accounts to use as mailing lists and give people alternative email addresses.

  • Yes. You can split the location of your covered data by OU. There are no restrictions on the number of splits or on the number of times that you request a data move. Learn more

  • Google Vault product logo
    Vault
  • Electronic discovery, or eDiscovery, is the process of searching and retrieving information in electronic format. It is useful for legal matters and prevents data loss from employee turnover.

  • If you delete a user, all data associated with the user's account will be removed from Google. As a best practice, Google recommends suspending user accounts instead of deleting them.

  • Vault is included with Google Workspace's Business and Enterprise editions. Once you start your free trial of Google Workspace, you can select and purchase one of these editions from within your Admin console. Alternatively, you can purchase by contacting sales.

  • Google endpoint management product logo
    Endpoint
  • No. Mobile management is included with Google Workspace because security is important and we want to make sure that you have the protection that you need.

  • Yes and yes. Admins can enforce policies across both Android and iOS so your employees can choose the device that they're comfortable with to get work done.

  • Sign up for a free trial of Google Workspace. If you're already using Google Workspace, you can learn how to enable mobile management from your Admin console.

  • Pricing
  • Google Workspace has three editions for companies with up to 300 users: Business Starter, Business Standard and Business Plus. Companies with more than 300 users should consider our enterprise offers. Please visit our pricing page to learn more.

  • Yes, we offer 14 days of Google Workspace service to new customers. Sign up for the free trial in minutes and create accounts for up to 10 people on your team. We'll need to get your billing details to set up your account, but you will only be charged after the free trial is over. You can cancel at any time. To get the most out of your trial, we recommend trying at least three tasks that you want to explore, such as collaborating on Docs, launching a video meeting in Meet or checking Gmail from your mobile device.

  • You can sign up for Google Workspace online or contact our sales team to get started. When you sign up online, you'll automatically start with a no-cost 14-day trial. We’ll need to get your billing details to set up your account, but you will only be charged after the no-cost trial is over. You can cancel at any time. Please note that the trial is limited to 10 users. If you add more than 10 users during your trial period, the trial will end and you will begin payment.

  • You can cancel your subscription at any time in the Admin Console dashboard, under the Billing section. If you cancel within your 14 day trial period, you will not be charged. Please refer to this Help Centre article for more information.

  • Following our setup guide, you can set up Google Workspace and migrate your information at no additional cost. Our Support team is available to help if needed. If you would like someone to do the setup and migration for your company, please contact a Google Partner to learn more about these services and the costs associated.

  • You can pay for your Google Workspace subscription using an international credit card. Google accepts payment via Visa, MasterCard and American Express. In some locations, you can also pay by making withdrawals from a bank account (also called direct debit).

  • Annual plans are only offered in some countries. Visit our pricing page to see if an annual plan is offered in your country.

  • A user is defined as one personalised email address (name@yourcompany). A user can have several email addresses by creating email aliases. Group email aliases (such as support@yourcompany) don't count as users. You can add up to 30 email aliases for each user.

  • No. Each user can have multiple email addresses by creating email aliases. You can add up to 30 email aliases per user.

  • No, the cost of a domain is separate from Google Workspace. During sign-up, you must specify the domain that you want for your business email. If you don't yet own the domain, you can purchase it from Google for an additional fee.

  • Yes. When you first set up your billing, you choose the country in which you do business and the currency that you would like to pay in. Your country determines the payment methods that you can use. Choose your country and currency carefully, as you can't change these selections later.

  • Security
  • Google Workspace has been built from the ground up to mitigate the unique threats for cloud systems. Google's standards for performance and reliability apply to businesses, schools and government institutions around the world.

    The technology, scale and agility of our infrastructure bring unique security benefits to our customers. Our vast network of data centres are built with custom-designed servers, which run our own operating system for security and performance. Because Google controls its entire hardware stack, we are able to quickly respond to threats that may emerge.

    Google employs dedicated security professionals to work on protecting your data, including some of the world's foremost experts in computer security. Just like all teams at Google, this team is constantly innovating and making the future more secure, not just for Google's billion users, but for business organisations as well.

    Google has an outstanding track record of protecting user data. We protect this data from outside intrusions as well as insider threats. In addition, we tightly restrict and monitor any internal access to user data. The small set of employees with access is subject to rigorous authentication measures, detailed logging and activity scanning to detect inappropriate access via log analysis.

    It is this unique combination of people, technology and agility that ensure that your data is secure at Google. For more information, take a look at the Google Workspace security white paper.

  • Google has designed Google Workspace with very stringent privacy and security standards based on industry best practices. This helps our customers address their compliance and regulatory requirements. Google offers strong contractual commitments regarding data ownership, data use, security, transparency and accountability.

    Google undergoes several independent third-party audits on a regular basis. These independent auditors examine the controls present in our data centres, infrastructure and operations. Examples of these audits and standards include: SOC1™, (SSAE-16/ISAE-3402), SOC2™, SOC3™, ISO27001, ISO 27018:2014 and FedRAMP. Learn more about our certifications at Security and trust.

    Many Google Workspace services are also compliant with HIPAA (US Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act).

    Google Workspace for Education can be used in compliance with laws and regulations important to schools.

  • Google Workspace supports customers' compliance with the US Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), which governs the safeguarding, use and disclosure of Protected Health Information (PHI). Customers who are subject to HIPAA and wish to use Google Workspace for PHI processing or storage can sign a business associate addendum with Google. View more details about HIPAA compliance with Google Workspace.

  • Respect for the privacy and security of data that you store with Google underpins our approach to producing data in response to legal requests. When we receive such a request, our team reviews the request to make sure that it satisfies legal requirements and Google's policies. Generally speaking, for Google to produce any data, the request must be made in writing, signed by an authorised official of the requesting agency and issued under an appropriate law. If we believe a request is overly broad, we'll seek to narrow it. For more information, visit Google's Transparency Report.

  • Core customer data that is uploaded or created in Google Workspace services is encrypted at rest, as described in this Help Centre article.

    This encryption happens as it is written to disk, without the customer having to take any action. Google encrypts data with distinct encryption keys, even if they belong to the same customer. Data is encrypted using 128-bit or stronger Advanced Encryption Standard (AES).

    Google encrypts core Google Workspace data while it is 'in transit' as well, whether it is travelling over the Internet between the customer and Google, or moving within Google as it shifts from one data centre to another. We encrypt this data between Google and our customers using HTTPS with forward secrecy.

  • Google offers the security features required for most customers directly in Google Workspace. Google Workspace's Business and Enterprise editions offer some additional security features, such as advanced Google Drive auditing and security keys management at scale. In all plans, Google Workspace administrators have control over system configuration and applications from within a single dashboard via our Admin console —regardless of the size of the organisation.

    Administrators can access advanced tools immediately, including authentication features like two-step verification and single sign-on, or email security policies like secure transport (TLS) enforcement, IRM and DLP that can be configured in a few clicks.

    For customers with security needs beyond what is included in Google Workspace, we created a partner marketplace that extends our capabilities.

  • Yes. Google has a broad customer base in Europe. Google provides capabilities and contractual commitments for our customers designed specifically to help address EU data protection requirements and the guidance provided by the Article 29 Working Party. Google Workspace offers EU Standard Contractual Clauses and a Cloud Data Processing Addendum. In addition, Google Workspace has been assessed as appropriate for use with the UK government's Cloud Security Principles 'OFFICIAL (including OFFICIAL-SENSITIVE)'.

  • Setup
  • Yes, you can bring your existing email, contacts and calendar data with you to Google Workspace. You can migrate the data for yourself and your team members, or you can let your team migrate their own data. Google Workspace has tools to migrate data from Microsoft® Exchange, Outlook® or Office 365™, IBM® Notes® and other email systems. For more information on the tools available for data migrations into Google Workspace, see Migrate your organisation's data to Google Workspace.

  • No, you'll continue to send and receive emails as usual. To use Gmail with Google Workspace, you set up your domain (MX records) to direct your mail flow to the Google mail servers. It's like registering your new address with the post office so that post is delivered to your new location. Once the MX records change takes effect (up to 72 hours), you can start receiving/sending email through your Google Workspace account. Until then, you'll receive/send your email through your old email system.

  • No, this transition will not affect your current website. Setting up Google Workspace does not require any changes to your current web host provider. While Google Workspace is not a web hosting provider, you can learn more about Google web hosting solutions through Google Cloud Platform.

  • To use Google Workspace, you need a domain. Your domain name is what appears after the www. in your website URL. If you already have a domain, enter it when you sign up for Google Workspace. (You'll be asked to verify that you own the domain.) If you don't have a domain or want to use a different one with Google Workspace, you can purchase a domain of your choice (if available) from Google.

  • Yes, you can work with a Google Workspace Partner. These experienced IT service companies can help you evaluate, customise, deploy and transition to Google Workspace. They can also provide training, data management and ongoing support. If you have any questions about setting up Google Workspace, you can also contact Google Workspace Support. The Support team is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

    Visit the Setup site for information on setup, communication templates and resources for deployment and change management.

  • Administration
  • Yes, you can manage your organisation's mobile devices, without the need for an on-premise device management server, using the Google Admin console. Mobile device management (MDM) allows you to enforce device policies over mobile devices in your organisation and perform actions like remotely wiping your users' mobile devices.

  • If your organisation acquires a new domain name or conducts business at multiple domains, you can add all your domains to your account at no extra cost. Users can then have identities at one or more of your domains while sharing services as part of a single organisation. And you can manage your domains from the same Admin console. Add a domain as either a separate domain or domain alias, depending on how you plan to use it.

  • Yes. No matter the size of your organisation, we recommend that you distribute the responsibility of managing your users and services among a selected set of trusted users. You can grant a user administrative privileges by assigning them one of the administrator roles available. Assigning a role grants the user access to your Admin console. You can make a user a super administrator who can perform all tasks in the Admin console. You can also assign an administrator a role that limits which tasks the administrator can perform. For example, allowing them only to create groups, manage service settings or reset a user's password.

  • Initially, most services are turned on for all of your users. You can use the Admin console to turn off services that you don't want people to use, or to customise how services work. You have the option to enable the same settings for everyone or apply unique policies to different users. For example, you might turn on Meet just for your support team or allow only the marketing department to share public Google Sites.