We use Google Workspace for emails and documents.
Vice President Of Engineering at Reshamandi
Fantastic corporate email feature at a reasonable cost
Pros and Cons
- "The corporate email feature on Google's Gmail is fantastic."
- "Google Workspace doesn't have some of the Excel and PowerPoint presentation functions you get with Microsoft Office."
What is our primary use case?
What is most valuable?
The corporate email feature on Google's Gmail is fantastic. The other features that I like are Excel, Google Work, and Google Drive.
What needs improvement?
Google Workspace doesn't have some of the Excel and PowerPoint presentation functions you get with Microsoft Office. And also, Google Drive is missing shared drive functionalities like specific permissions, view, read, write, departments, and hierarchies.
Google Workspace should include enterprise-class features that Microsoft 365 or any file-sharing system provides, including managing the hierarchy of roles and permissions and directly attaching groups. Google Workspace should partner with Microsoft 365 to provide the flexibility and functions currently lacking in Google Docs, Google Sheets, and Google Slides.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Google Workspace for more than two years.
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What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The functionality of Google Workspace is very robust.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We have not received any complaints from more than 200-300 employees who use Google Workspace regularly.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
Before Google Workspace, I used to work with SharePoint and some internal tools in my previous organization.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup for Google Workspace is very minimal and takes less than half a day’s time. If you have a bit of technical experience, you should be able to set it up.
What about the implementation team?
We procured Google Workspace by ourselves but later moved into a vendor because they provided invoice discounting and a credit period. Although the provider gives us the invoices, we do manage our accounts. We don't necessarily use their expertise to manage our accounts. The vendors were helpful in the beginning for the initial level of training and setting up. The vendor’s name is ‘Shivaami cloud services private limited.’
What was our ROI?
Sometimes, ROI cannot be directly measured in terms of money. However, we have had an ROI with Google Workspace regarding documentation, emails, calendars, and Google Meet.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The pricing of Google Workspace, so far, has been reasonable. The approximate licensing cost is around $5000 to $6000 per month. There are no additional costs for support and maintenance.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
Before Google Workspace, we didn't evaluate any other options. Since we are a startup, we adapted to Gmail, one of the strong service providers in the mail ecosystem. Then we bought Google Workspace and started using Gmail, Google Drive, Google Meet, Google Docs, Google Sheets, and Google Slides.
What other advice do I have?
Since Google Workspace is a SaaS product, it does not need maintenance. We have three to four admins who keep adding people to the Google Workspace so that they can use different products within the Workspace.
We will continue to be there on Google Workspace because our primary email server is Gmail. Some documentation and Excel sheet capabilities, Google Calendar, and Google Meet will continue to be there in Google Workspace, and we don't want to move away from that. I'm only looking for file storage, where I can manage permissions and edit those files on MS Office 365.
If you are booting up or setting up something new, go ahead and use Google Workspace because it is very easy to set up. You just have to go and register yourself. Google Workspace will not fit enterprises with over 5,000 people, various departments, other subordinate functions, and vendors working with them. Google has to work on the flexibility of Google Workspace's product site.
Overall, I rate Google Workspace a nine out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Project Lead at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Easy to use with good features and good security
Pros and Cons
- "It's easy to use."
- "There's a bit of a learning curve."
What is our primary use case?
Most of the customers use the solution for basic and standard planning and stuff like that. They do have a variety of use cases.
They have security parameters, and internal access to security policies for accessing email.
What is most valuable?
It's easy to use. Most of the features regarding security are good.
It offers better information and dashboard reports and customization activities. The VPN contribution is good.
It has a lot of very useful features.
What needs improvement?
They are starting their own support system. However, most of it is still knowledge-based. My engineers are more knowledgeable than the G Suite support engineer sometimes. Their support needs to be better in India.
Right now, the software is pretty complete and it has a lot of features that are great. It's not lacking.
The login and restriction to move are very difficult.
There's a bit of a learning curve.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've worked with the solution for the last six months.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The industry standard has been maintained, so I don't see any difficulties for implementation with G Suite. They have that GAM tool available which is most difficult. The work state is very lengthy.
It is stable. Every product has different issues. For example, if you go with Mercedes, you definitely learn Mercedes has different issues. This is the same with Google. However, we haven't had any trouble in relation to reliability.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We have between 10,000 and 30,000 users.
It doesn't seem scalable. If I were to upgrade or degrade it will take me too much time with the licensing process that's available. That might be an issue in software. I'm not sure about that.
How are customer service and support?
It's a good support system. G Suite is hiring people who are really good at communication skills, however, in India, there is no such approach. You need to rely on the knowledge base and not support. If your communication skill is not good it's hard to deliver the solution or give the technical answer.
How was the initial setup?
The solution is not complex to set up. It is very straightforward and simple to implement.
The industry standard has been maintained, so I don't see any difficulties for implementation with G Suite.
In a single console, I can manage multiple customers. They have very similar panels and similar options available in the GAM tool. Connecting with the GAM suite can be difficult to manage multiple customers and servers in the script.
What was our ROI?
Whether or not your company receives any ROI depends on the organization. Currently, a basic plan starts from the 30GB. There is also one plan which will cost another 2,000 rupees where they give a fuller picture, however, the plan costs are too high. If you consider the Indian market, there are people who do not have web access and they consider their mobile configuration or desktop. If the user is not going to use all the GB, it may not be cost-effective.
If the user is not using on that amount of data, so why should I waste 2,000 rupees for the license?
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The costs vary. It may be somewhere around 10,000 to 20,000 rupees. It depends on how much the customer plans to use. There isn't a standard license. The cost depends on multiple factors.
There are six plans starting from 2,000 rupees, for a standard setup. The features you add will also add to the price.
What other advice do I have?
I'm a reseller.
I'd rate the solution eight out of ten.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer:
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Country Manager at CloudFabrix Software
Easy to use with lots of great features and good stability
Pros and Cons
- "I like everything that Google does. They have good products."
- "The solution could always be more secure, although that doesn't affect me so much."
What is our primary use case?
I mainly use it for interaction with customers. For internal use, we mostly use Slack. There's hardly any email internally. External emails, however, require Gmail.
What is most valuable?
I like everything that Google does. They have good products.
It's easy to use.
The solution is stable.
The scalability is good.
It's smarter than I am. There are always more features that I need to explore.
I'm happy with its current integration capabilities.
What needs improvement?
The solution could always be more secure, although that doesn't affect me so much.
The next trend in email is automation, as email becomes hard when you need to do maintenance, put in the files, and remember where you put stuff. Automation can take away the noise, so to speak.
That said, for us, since a lot of the communication is done on Slack, email is not used as much anymore. It used to be distribution lists and it was difficult to maintain the inbox. However, now, using Slack, it's not a big issue anymore.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been at my current company for about three months and have used it since then.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The stability of G-suite is good. There are no bugs or glitches. There is no crashing or freezing. It's reliable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution is very scalable. If you need to scale up, you can do so with Google.
We don't have a lot of users. We're a small company. It's probably close to a hundred users in total.
How are customer service and support?
I've never been in touch with technical support. I haven't had any issues. Therefore, I would not be able to rate the level of service they provide.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I used Office 365 before. I can't say that there's a major difference between the two options, or that one is good and one is bad. They're both very good, very advanced.
How was the initial setup?
As it's a cloud-based solution, there isn't really an implementation that happens. It's very simple and straightforward to start using it.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I don't know how much it costs due to the fact that I'm just a user. I'm a sales guy, I'm not the IT guy. I don't handle any aspect of licensing.
What other advice do I have?
Our company is a client and an end-user. We don't have a business relationship with Google.
As we are using the cloud version of the solution, we're always on the latest version of the product.
I'd rate the solution at a nine out of ten. It does what it needs to do in a very good way, so it gets a high mark from me.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
Google
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Manager, Information Technology at a real estate/law firm with 51-200 employees
Helps to keep backup of old emails and has straightforward documentation
Pros and Cons
- "The tool helps me keep a backup of old emails. Like everyone else, I love the Google search engine for searching emails on webmail. The Google Workspace connector for Outlook works well, so I have no issues with that."
- "I find the price high for the full suite features. Compared to Exchange Online, the price might not be too high, but you cannot choose only one functionality. When you buy Google Workspace, you have to get everything, including file storage and communication tools, which I don't use."
What is most valuable?
The tool helps me keep a backup of old emails. Like everyone else, I love the Google search engine for searching emails on webmail. The Google Workspace connector for Outlook works well, so I have no issues with that.
Learning the tool is straightforward because we're only using email. We need to verify that we have enough licenses. If we don't, we buy an additional license. Then, we create a user request for the new user.
What needs improvement?
I find the price high for the full suite features. Compared to Exchange Online, the price might not be too high, but you cannot choose only one functionality. When you buy Google Workspace, you have to get everything, including file storage and communication tools, which I don't use.
A more granular offering would be better, allowing me to purchase just the mail server with full online backup at a more competitive price compared to other solutions.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using the product for 14 years.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We have grown from 10 to 19 users and haven't seen any issues.
How are customer service and support?
At the very beginning, during the setup, we did contact Google support.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I don't use the fax system from Google Workspace; I use Dropbox. For local apps, I stick with Microsoft products. I haven't found anything better. I also use Exchange Online for some of my work, which works fine.
I like that Google Workspace eliminates the need for on-premise servers with tape backups to keep emails forever. That's why I use and continue to support it, even if we're transitioning to other tools. For instance, we might move from Dropbox to SharePoint and OneDrive. However, OneDrive hasn't convinced me yet, so I continue using Dropbox. The same reason I use Dropbox is why I use Google Workspace: it's the closest thing to the old-fashioned server and tape backup solution.
What was our ROI?
The biggest return on investment we've seen from the tool is the ability to save money by finding any email anytime, which is particularly useful in legal cases. However, from an operational perspective, it's more expensive than Exchange Online for our use case.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
We have purchased an annual subscription.
What other advice do I have?
If users forget their passwords, they need to reset or change them, which involves contacting IT support. However, this doesn't happen very often.
I rate the overall product a nine out of ten. I don't have specific advice for IT professionals because the documentation is straightforward. I would advise considering the safety aspects before using any cloud solution, whether Google Workspace or something else. My feedback mainly applies to email usage, as I haven't used the file-sharing and communication tools enough.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Last updated: Jun 10, 2024
Flag as inappropriateSustainable Attainable Lifestyle at Tiny Toronto
Large interconnected ecosystem, beneficial upgrades, but difficult implementation
Pros and Cons
- "G Suite Enterprise provides many features, such as business increased search visibility, email address, and domain. It's a large whole ecosystem that is the major benefit. You can manage your whole team and have many tools. Over seven years, the solution has gone through some drastic upgrades and improvements which are done automatically, I do not have to manual upgrade."
- "There are 120 different products and Google is ready to copy their competitors and vice versa. Some of them work, and some of them don't. There are many newer tools with no-code environments which allow for a leaner self-owned system, where I'm not tied to paying hundreds and thousands of dollars a year to another company."
What is most valuable?
G Suite Enterprise provides many features, such as business increased search visibility, email address, and domain. It's a large whole ecosystem that is the major benefit. You can manage your whole team and have many tools. Over seven years, the solution has gone through some drastic upgrades and improvements which are done automatically, I do not have to manual upgrade.
These types of solutions were code-heavy five years ago, but if you're to recreate it using the no-code environment, they're not only growing in that perspective they're also growing the AI. "How do I handle the data at the end of it?" HubSpot is not growing those services.
What needs improvement?
There are 120 different products and Google is ready to copy their competitors and vice versa. Some of them work, and some of them don't. There are many newer tools with no-code environments which allow for a leaner self-owned system, where I'm not tied to paying hundreds and thousands of dollars a year to another company.
In the next release of G Suite Enterprise, it would be a benefit to have mapping integration. For example, receiving the location on who you're interacting with and where people are coming from.
The mapping integration feature should not be an afterthought, but an active part of engagement with the people. If I send out a post to social media because emails are not a thing anymore, you're doing it through the social channel and people respond to it. "This is where I am and here's a picture of my backyard, my company is called Tiny Toronto and we build homes in backyards." This should get mapped on a map, Google's good at maps. The marketing generation between people tagging themselves on a map, you have that information accessible in that platform that you can make outreach to them. HubSpot hasn't evolved fast enough to go at that velocity. It's on hold because it doesn't have the mapping integration into something.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have used G Suite Enterprise within the past 12 months.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is stable, we have never lost data. They don't let you delete stuff in some sense.
How are customer service and support?
G Suite Enterprise support is very accessible. I can click on call back connect with someone, and they can solve my problem immediately. They are a utility company that answers the phone.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I have used HubSpot previously and they are not as dynamic as G Suite Enterprise.
If HubSpot wants to be a utility company they have to be able to answer the phone. I'm planning to move to Shopify, and it has an integration with Google Adwords, you can have fulfillment and everything in a separate ecology. I'm sure G Suite Enterprise has other things that plug into Shopify that's been built new. HubSpot is not a growing platform anymore, people have gone elsewhere, especially in e-retailing.
How was the initial setup?
G Suite Enterprise requires effort to set it all up.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The price of G Suite Enterprise is reasonable compared to HotSpot. I'm not going to say G Suite Enterprise is affordable. It's valuable, you find value in paying your gas bill or your electricity bill, because of what it allows you to do.
What other advice do I have?
I rate G Suite Enterprise a seven out of ten.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Student at Kabale University
Straightforward implementation, highly stable and scalable
Pros and Cons
- "The initial setup of Google Workspace is straightforward."
- "The solution could improve by having more frequent updates."
What is our primary use case?
I don't use Google Workspace frequently, but when I do, it's mainly for scheduling meetings. For example, when I have meetings with lecturers or with classmates for scheduled discussions.
What needs improvement?
The solution could improve by having more frequent updates.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Google Workspace for approximately three years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is stable if there is a good internet connection.
I rate the stability of Google Workspace a ten out of ten.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We have approximately 100 people using the solution in my organization. We plan to increase our usage in the future.
I rate the scalability of Google Workspace a ten out of ten.
How are customer service and support?
I have not used the support.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I have not used a similar solution prior to Google Workspace.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup of Google Workspace is straightforward.
I rate the initial setup of Google Workspace a ten out of ten.
What about the implementation team?
The implementation of the solution was done in-house. We have five people able to do the deployment of the solution. The team consists of developers and lecturers.
What was our ROI?
We have seen an ROI because it provides good services.
I rate the ROI of Google Workspace a ten out of ten.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
There are different versions of the solution available, such as premium.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend this solution to others.
I rate Google Workspace a ten out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Commercial Sales Manager at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Flexible, fast, and responsive
Pros and Cons
- "The solution is very stable."
- "We need more functionality with Google Sheets"
What is our primary use case?
We primarily use the solution for file sharing, document creation, spreadsheet creation, presentations, and email.
What is most valuable?
The speed and response time are the most valuable aspects of the solution. It's always quick and available. I haven't had any outage problems or anything like that. I don't think there's ever been a time when it's been unreliable.
The solution is very stable.
It can scale well.
It's very flexible.
What needs improvement?
We need more functionality with Google Sheets. Sometimes I find that, since I've used Excel in the past, there's not as much feature parody between Microsoft's Excel and Google Sheets. Excel seems to have more features than Google Sheets. That's probably true with Google Workspace overall. It just doesn't have as many features and isn't as feature-rich as Microsoft Office.
The learning curve is a bit higher on the solution than, for example, Microsoft Office.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've used the solution for a year and a half at this point.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It's a stable, reliable product. There are no bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze. The performance is good. We've never had any lag or downtime. It's a very responsive solution.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We have found the product to be easily scalable.
How are customer service and support?
I've never had to deal with technical support. I'm not sure how helpful or responsive they are in general.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I've used Microsoft options in the past.
Google Workspace is probably more scalable. The learning curve is probably deeper for Workspace, however, once you understand how to use workspace or G Suite, it's quicker and more responsive than Microsoft Office - and more flexible.
How was the initial setup?
I don't deal with the deployment or maintenance aspect of the solution.
What other advice do I have?
I'd advise potential new users to just make sure that the functionality feature set will meet the needs of the organization and then make sure that the organization trains or at least enables the workforce with the resources they need to make the most out of the solutions.
I'd rate the product eight out of ten overall. I've mostly been pleased with its capabilities.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Chief Innovation Officer at eMotion
Straightforward to implement and offers good pricing but not as robust as some Microsoft options
Pros and Cons
- "It has saved us money."
- "G Suite is not as powerful as Microsoft Office Suite, so sometimes we have to change to Excel and PowerPoint."
What is our primary use case?
We use this for everything. We use Slides for presentations, Sheets for analysis, Google Data Studio for reports, Google Sites internally on our internet and for our clients as well, to show them some financial reports. We don't use the Google Docs. Primarily we use Sheets, Slides, Data Studio, and Sites.
How has it helped my organization?
It has saved us money. We choose Google Suite due to the price. It's not due to the fact that it's better than Microsoft Suite. The thing is that we use Google Chat and Google Docs, and take advantage of the integration and the power of the search of Google - which is very good for us. We can find everything very fast.
What is most valuable?
We like that we have everything together, connected to Google Drive. This is very useful. The integration is very good with Google Drive. All this stuff that we have, we can use together in the same place, which is very good.
The initial setup is very straightforward.
What needs improvement?
G Suite is not as powerful as Microsoft Office Suite, so sometimes we have to change to Excel and PowerPoint.
Google Slides and Google Sheets have a lot of room for improvement. Also, Google Data Studio is not great when compared to Power BI. Power BI is much better than Google Data Studio.
For how long have I used the solution?
We've used the solution for maybe two or three years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
We've never had an issue with stability. Overall, it's been quite good. There are no bugs or glitches.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It is my understanding that the solution can scale. We have 100 to 130 people on the product right now. Almost everybody uses G Suite here.
We do plan to expand as we explore using more AI.
How are customer service and support?
We use a third party and that team would contact Google if they had issues. However, our experience with the third party has been okay.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Neutral
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We always have used G Suite. We never used Microsoft Suite. Since the beginning of the company, we've been on this particular product. I've used Microsoft in the past at other companies.
How was the initial setup?
The solution is simple to set up. It's not difficult at all.
I do not recall exactly how long the deployment took.
We have two staff members, trainees, that are handling any maintenance tasks.
What about the implementation team?
We used a third party during the implementation process. There is a company in Sao Paulo that helped us to set up everything.
What was our ROI?
We have seen a pretty good ROI on the product, based on how inexpensive it is.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The pricing is pretty good. It's cheaper than Microsoft. I'd rate it a four out of five in terms of affordability.
In the past, we had to buy a Microsoft OneDrive license, and it was very expensive. And we chose G Suite, and the price was very good.
What other advice do I have?
We are using the latest version of the product.
If your company is heavily into Excel or Powerpoint, it's best to stay with Microsoft. However, Google is a decent option for those who do not need these two applications so much.
I'd rate it seven out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
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