Formerly known as Google Apps, it was launched in 2006 as a software-as-a-service (SaaS) offering. Today’s Google Workspace includes an office productivity suite, email, and document sharing, as well as Gmail, Google Talk for instant messaging, Hangouts, Google Calendar, Google Docs, spreadsheets, presentations, and more.
Google Workspace (formerly known as Google Apps and later G Suite) is a collection of cloud computing, productivity and collaboration tools, software and products developed and marketed by Google. It consists of Gmail, Contacts, Calendar, Meet and Chat for communication; Currents for employee engagement; Drive for storage; and the Google Docs Editors suite for content creation. An Admin Panel is provided for managing users and services. Depending on edition Google Workspace may also include the digital interactive whiteboard Jamboard and an option to purchase add-ons such as the telephony service Voice. The education edition adds a learning platform Google Classroom and today has the name Workspace for Education.
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| Developer(s) | |
|---|---|
| Initial release | February 2006 (as "Gmail for Your Domain") |
| Type | Online office suite |
| License | Trialware (Retail, volume licensing) |
| Website | workspace |
While most of these services are individually available at no cost to consumers who use their free Google (Gmail) accounts, Google Workspace adds enterprise features such as custom email addresses at a domain (e.g. @yourcompany.com), an option for unlimited Drive storage, additional administrative tools and advanced settings, as well as 24/7 phone and email support.
Being based in Google's data centers, data and information are saved directly and then synchronized to other data centers for backup purposes. Unlike the free, consumer-facing services, Google Workspace users do not see advertisements while using the services, and information and data in Google Workspace accounts do not get used for advertisement purposes. Furthermore, Google Workspace administrators can fine-tune security and privacy settings.
The suite was first launched in February 2006 as Gmail for Your Domain, before being expanded into Google Apps for Your Domain in the same year, later rebranded as G Suite in 2016, then rebranded again in 2020 as Google Workspace.
As of April 2020, G Suite had 6 million paying businesses, and 120 million G Suite for Education users.
