G Suite
G Suite | Google Apps on Your Domain
Get professional Gmail for your business
Get Professional email, online storage, shared calendars, video meetings and more with G Suite. G Suite is built for business and designed for teams.
Google Apps for Work (Google Apps for Business) is now known as G Suite. In September 2016, Google announced that they were changing their product name from Google Apps to G Suite. Organisations of all shapes and sizes, from one-person start-ups to large corporations with over 200,000 people, are using Google for their work. To reflect this, Google decided to rename their Apps product.
What is G Suite?
What are Google Apps…
…and can they help me and my business?
G Suite (Google Apps for Work) is a collection of software tools that give you many (if not all) of the things you will need to run your business. They are suitable for businesses of all sizes, but would be a particularly good choice for an existing small business or a new start-up business that is perhaps small but is planning to expand.
The software is all built around email, in this case that means GMail (Google Mail), which many of us are now familiar with using for at least our personal email accounts. The G Suite system also offers office software for common tasks, such as word processing and spreadsheets, is based in ‘the Cloud’ and has ample storage for all your business files.
One of the advantages of this software model is that you don’t need to purchase any expensive software upfront. The technology is all based around a web browser, such as Google Chrome, Firefox or Internet Explorer (as well as many others). And from a costing perspective, it is based on a very affordable per user, per month rental basis. That currently stands at £3.30 per user each month. Taking this approach, allows a small business to set up email with supporting office communication and collaboration tools that will work for one or two people, but will easily be expandable to many more users as your business grows.
G Suite for Your Domain
The other important benefit is that G Suite is based around your website domain name. This enables a small business to have a coherent brand that can be carried across both the website and any related business communications (emails). This is often not the case when small businesses start and create their first website
It is generally not straightforward to have your email address set up to match you website site address and have access to an email system that is simple to use. For this reason, it is very common for businesses to publish their website on a domain of their choice, such as www.mynewcompany.co.uk, and then use an email account they are comfortable managing on a separate domain. This is often GMail, so they will perhaps end up with mynewcompany@gmail.com in attempt to maintain the brand identity.
Using G Suite allows small businesses to obtain a domain name (either through Google or separately) and then use it for a website hosted in a place of their choice. At the same time it allows them to set up email addresses on the same domain that can be hosted on GMail, with all the powerful business software tools that support it. Straight away, with minimal effort, your business can be using the www.mynewcompany.co.uk website and relying on GMail to communicate using email addresses, such as joe.bloggs@mynewcompany.co.uk etc.
Also, having multiple email addresses doesn’t mean you need to have multiple G Suite accounts, so if you wanted to use info@mynewcompany.co.uk or billing@mynewcompany.co.uk it could be done with only one account. However, if you need separate people to log-in and read the billing@ & info@emails you would need a separate account.
Don’t worry if you’ve already set up your website and have been using a mynewcompany@gmail.com (or similar) email address. AWP Computer Services can help you migrate all of your existing email (with attachments) into your new Google Apps for Work me@mynewcompany.co.uk GMail account.
For free advice and more information about using G Suite (formerly Goolge Apps for Work), please don’t hesitate to call us or alternatively contact us through the web site.
Talk to AWP about G Suite & Google Apps
We have been using G Suite for our business at AWP Computer Services since it’s inception, and we also help a number of clients with their G Suite set-up and administration. From that point of view, we believe that we’re ideally placed to advise you on how you could benefit from using G Suite too.
For free advice and more information about using G Suite, please don’t hesitate to call us or alternatively contact us through the web site.
How do I get started with G Suite?
Can I try G Suite before I buy it?
Yes, you are able to use G Suite for 30 days free with no commitment. You can sign up in minutes and create accounts for up to 10 pilot users within your organisation. To get the most out of your trial, Google recommend identifying at least three important tasks you want to explore, such as collaborating on documents, launching a video meeting in Hangouts or checking Gmail from your mobile device. If you wish to continue beyond the trial period it is important that you enter your billing information within 30 days to avoid a disruption in service.
Can I use my own domain with G Suite?
(What if I don’t have a domain?)
To use G Suite, you’ll need a domain name such as yourcompany.com. Your domain name is what appears after the www. in your website URL (website address). If you already have a domain, just enter it during the signup process; you will then need to verify that you own the domain, which happens in three easy steps. If you need a domain or want a different one, Google can check to see if it’s available and help you purchase it from one of their domain host partners. Alternatively, please call AWP Computer Services (or contact us through our website) for help with getting your own domain name.
How long does it take to set up my account?
After you sign up for Google Apps, you will need to set up the account. Signup takes a few minutes and basic setup starts at 15 minutes. The setup duration depends on how many users you’re creating and how much data you’re migrating over. You can add users and migrate data at any time, not just during the initial setup.
Will I experience email downtime during my transition?
To set up email with G Suite, you need to direct your domain’s mail flow to your Google Apps account. You do this by pointing your domain’s Mail Exchange (MX) records to Google. MX record changes can take up to 72 hours to go into effect, but they typically happen much sooner. Therefore, in line with Google’s guidance, we recommend making the switch on an evening or weekend when you receive fewer emails.
What happens to my existing mail, contacts, and calendar data when I move to G Suite?
When switching to G Suite from another program or web service, you and your users can bring your existing mail, contacts, and calendar data with you. You have a variety of options for migrating data into G Suite, depending on the size of your organisation and the system you’re migrating from. Tools are available for migration from Microsoft Exchange, Lotus Notes, IMAP servers and other Google accounts. If you need help with this part of the migration (or any part of the Google Apps set-up), please call AWP Computer Services (or contact us through our website) for advice.
Is it really worth the trouble of learning a new set of tools?
When organisations switch to G Suite, we often find that many employees are already using Google tools in their personal lives. This means they can quickly pick up the basics with little to no training. However, even if you’re not accustomed to Gmail and other Google services, Google’s tools are simple and intuitive enough for everyone to learn them quickly and easily. Google also provide plenty of guides, videos and tips for business users and administrators.
Can I get someone to set up G Suite for me?
Yes. You’re welcome to work with a company on the G Suite partner programme, such as AWP Computer Services. As an experienced IT service company, we can help you evaluate, customise, deploy and transition to Google Apps. We can also provide training, data management and ongoing support. You always pay the same amount for your Google Apps licenses whether you purchase straight from Google or through a referral partner, such as AWP Computer Services.
For free advice and more information about using G Suite to help your business, please don’t hesitate to call us or alternatively contact us through the web site.