There’s a free version of Google Workspace now, but you’ll need to bring your own email

You may be accustomed to Google Workspace, the productiveness suite that’s higher recognized by its older title G Suite. It not solely supplies your firm with an email host, but additionally its vast suite of instruments like Google Sheets, Drive, Chat, Docs, Meetings, and many others. While you may as well entry them with a private Google account, if your firm used different email hosts or workspace options like Microsoft 365 Business or Zoho, you gained’t give you the chance to entry Google Workspace instruments—till now.

Google has launched a new free tier of Google Workspace, dubbed the Google Workspace Essentials Starter version. It will enable anybody with a enterprise email to entry the Google Workspace just by signing up for it. Once you’ve signed up for it, you’ll be able to then create a staff and invite your co-workers into it, streamlining engaged on sure tasks. You’ll additionally get to use Google Meet, Chat, Docs, Sheets, Slides and Drive, though the latter will solely include 15GB of cloud storage per consumer similar to a private account. Being a free product, it actually looks like it affords a lot for small corporations who maybe already use these providers with their own Gmail accounts alongside their firm email.

Among the advantages Google claims their free Workspace supplies contains higher collaboration on merchandise with out stuff like version management and email attachments getting in the way in which thanks to Sheets, Slides and Docs. You may retailer, share and edit along with your colleagues on over 100 completely different file varieties, together with the standard suspects of Microsoft Office paperwork and PDFs while not having to convert your information each time. Workspace Essentials Starter additionally provides customers entry to Google Chat, and the Spaces characteristic inside that’s previously often called Rooms. Users can share fast updates, drop information and talk about with staff members too merely with Google Chat as they work on tasks collectively.

There are another restrictions too by going for the free tier Google Workspace. According to the help web page for Workspace Essentials Starter version, a staff can solely be arrange for up to 25 folks, though your firm can nonetheless create a vast numbers of groups. You additionally gained’t be eligible for help from Google themselves, and your version of Meetings and Chats may have limitations too akin to a most assembly size of an hour, in addition to no built-in recordings, Q&A and polls in addition to no dial-in characteristic too. It’s additionally maybe value declaring that your firm’s IT division gained’t give you the chance to have as a lot management over the corporate’s workspace, which can lead to points over safety and administration, though staff leaders can nonetheless add and take away members.

It additionally does appear as if that this transfer to introduce a free tier of Google Workspace isn’t completely due to Google’s own goodwill. Instead, it seems to be a response to the criticism it confronted lately when it tried to finish legacy, free G Suite accounts by suspending them in the event that they didn’t transfer to a paid account by July this 12 months. Google ultimately did relent, permitting for a knowledge migration possibility to a client account earlier than they shut down these accounts. The new Google Workspace Essentials Starter thus looks like a manner for these customers to get again on their facet, by giving them entry to Google’s suite of instruments once more for free, albeit with a couple extra restrictions this time.

Nevertheless, Google Workspace Essentials Starter nonetheless appears, on paper at the least, a stable manner for smaller corporations particularly to get into the Google Workspace ecosystem, particularly in the event that they’re already utilizing another email internet hosting resolution. It’s not accessible simply but although; Google Workspace Essentials Starter will solely be rolling out globally within the coming weeks. If you’re although, you’ll be able to head over to its webpage and join to be notified when it turns into accessible.