What is our primary use case?
I use Google Vault for data retention. For example, say I have my Google respite services and I want to retain data from Gmail, Google Drive, Google Chat — that's where Google Vault comes in. Whenever I want to back up or archive all the data that I have, I export it and save it in Google Vault.
My company employs a lot of people and they all support Google Vault. Not just Google Vault, but all of the Google services — Google Vault is just one of our supporting products — it's one of the services that we troubleshoot.
How has it helped my organization?
Google Vault retains all deleted data from the previous four years. This function acts as backup security. This vital information can be made available to anyone who needs it. With Google Vault, we can improve our storage within the data that we no longer need. We can just delete everything on Google Vault on a specific number of days. No one will get this information in their inbox or their drive file. We can just simply remove it directly from Google Vault. It's much easier than removing it, user by user.
What is most valuable?
Google Vault acts as a great method for retrieving files from Google Drive and Gmail.
What needs improvement?
Searching could be improved. There's a lot of limitations when searching with Google Vault.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been serving customers with Google Vault, or Google Workspace rather, for the past three years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Stability-wise, it's pretty good. I don't see any more room for improvement aside from the search tool. It's also very scalable, too.
How are customer service and technical support?
I would give the technical support a rating of nine. Most of the technical support is very knowledgeable about this product and its services: how it works, how to work around issues, how to fix any problems you may encounter including how to manage tension, search and export. Their support is not just limited to Google Vault either. Most problems can be resolved within a few minutes or even with a simple email.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I've used too many solutions to mention.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was pretty straightforward. On the first page of Google Vault, you're already in the retention rule. All you have to do is click on the left side of which one you want to obtain. After you have created the retention rule, then you can create your Vault. It's pretty straight forward when you're configuring Google Vault.
An experienced person can configure Google Vault in roughly two to three minutes. That's all the time it takes to create a retention rule for your organization.
What about the implementation team?
As I am a trained implementer, I do it the only way I know how. There's a lot of implementation support available on google.com — you can search for Google Vault, and they will tell you how to set it up for your organization. Personally, I just play around with the settings — there's an easy setup option there that you can find.
We work closely with a Google Vault engineer who takes care of all maintenance-related issues.
Whoever performs the maintenance should be familiar with retention and searching capabilities.
What other advice do I have?
Before your organization starts using Google Vault Services, make sure that the person that will handle the retention and the solution is very knowledgeable about the product. You need to understand the settings — some are straightforward, others are not. The person who is in charge should be knowledgeable about Google Services as a whole, not just Google Vault. An organization needs retention rules because they apply to every organization. Someone with an IT background would make a good fit.
Overall, on a scale from one to ten, I would give Google Vault a rating of ten.
It's a very useful solution for a large organization, but it's not very necessary for smaller organizations. If you have a business of 10 to 20 employees, then you definitely need Google Vault. That way, you can restore any lost or deleted information easily.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.