Google Next 2019 had many announcements about new features in G Suite. We’ve parsed this massive list for you to pick out the ones that will make a huge difference for your business.
1) Work on Office files within G Suite
As most people who have worked with documents know, the old way of doing business with G Suite and Microsoft Office files was to open the document in the preferred app (Docs, Sheets, or Slides) and then save it as the MS Office version of the file type in order to send it back to the client. This clunky way of handling Office files is gone.
Now you can simply open any Office file type in G Suite, work on it with all of the extra tools that Google has to offer, and save it again as an Office file so you can send it back to your client in a format they can use. This is probably one of the biggest pieces of news to come out of Google Next 2019 and will make a huge difference in the workdays of all G Suite users.
2) Dropbox integration with G Suite
Dropbox Business customers can now create, save and share G Suite files right from Dropbox, without having to open G Suite. This new integration also allows for saving G Suite files to most file formats, including Office files, not just G Suite file formats.
3) Google Calendar is now easier to use
You can now search for people and automatically add them to events, as well as being able to temporarily view coworkers calendars. You can also add much more information in the meeting creation dialogue, while viewing coworkers calendars ensures that you can find a time that works for everyone internally.
4) Huge improvements to Hangouts Meet
Hangouts Meet is already a powerful meeting tool which is fully integrated with the rest of G Suite. Automatic live captions can help to ensure that you can follow along in a noisy room and makes it much easier for meeting participants who require accessibility features to use Hangouts Meet. Also, up to 250 participants will be able to join your Meet soon, making it even more ideal for webinars and other applications that may require high attendance limits.
5) Google Voice is now live for all users
Old-school hardline business phone systems were by and large replaced by Voice over IP (VoIP) phones. These systems have been perfected over the last decade to the point where they have higher call quality than a traditional landline ever could. Enter Google Voice. Google Voice has all of the features you would expect from a business phone system, with the infrastructure and security of Google behind it.
6) More secure Gmail with MTA-STS standard
MTA-STS is a new security protocol which requires good encryption and authentication checks for an email in transit. This will be of interest to any business in the healthcare or financial sectors which require extra layers of security but will keep any business using Gmail more secure. Gmail is now enforcing this protocol, where it was optional for admins before. IT administrators can check the Security Center for recommendations from Google on how to enforce MTA-STS policies.
7) Copy a large website in Google Sites
If you don’t have a backup solution for your company’s website, G Suite can actually handle that for you with Google Sites. A recent update to the site copying features makes it possible to copy larger websites up to 5 terabytes.
8) Better reports in Google Sheets
The additional features just announced for Google Sheets may convert some of the last Excel holdouts at your company who use Excel for reports. Now you can cut and paste images from anywhere into your Sheet, select multiple objects to work with them, and you can to place pivot tables into custom locations on Sheets.
9) Important bug squash: avoid double-booking rooms in Calendar
Google Calendar will no longer double-book rooms that overlap meeting times, saving last-minute scurrying when you’ve double-booked a room, and additional emails prior to the meeting to ensure that your colleagues haven’t booked the room.
10) Access Hangouts Chat from Gmail (Beta)
While this feature is still in beta when it is launched you will be able to access Hangouts Chat from the lower left corner of your Gmail screen. You can sign up for the beta here if you are interested in trying it out early.
11) Visitor sharing in Google Drive (Beta)
While it is easy to share files, recipients of the files are usually asked for a Gmail account to share it with. With visitor sharing, you will be able to share files and collaborate on them without the need for the person on the other end to have a Gmail account. This will reduce client confusion and get you collaborating more quickly and easily.
12) Google Drive metadata (Beta)
Searching for a document in Google Drive is easy; all you have to do is remember a word or phrase that was in it, and you get results in seconds. Google Drive metadata allows administrators and other staff to enter metadata and create taxonomies in Google Drive, making searching files even easier than it was before. Sign up for the beta here.
13) G Suite Enterprise: Shared investigations, more in Security Center (Beta)
Shared investigations allow admins to share their investigations with the security investigation tool. Rule automation is also a very significant feature that can assign tasks to specific admins or staff without a human needing to curate the process. Sign up for the beta here.
14) Work on huge amounts of BigQuery data with connected Google Sheets (Beta)
With the new Google Sheets data connector, you can work on up to 10 billion rows of BigQuery data without the need for SQL scripts, making the entire process much more user-friendly and accessible for staff without SQL experience.
15) More phishing and malware protection for Gmail (Beta)
A large percentage of cyber risk at your company starts with your staff’s email use. Through phishing emails, attackers and hackers can extract personal information such as logins and financial information. These emails can also allow malware to be installed on compromised computers and devices. Because phishing is such a threat, Gmail introduced a number of protections against it in 2018. Now, G Suite admins have access to advanced phishing and malware protection through the Security Center. Find out more about what you can do and how to turn on the features you want.
16) Google makes focusing on customers easy for Salesforce and your business
Salesforce has over 30,000 G Suite users. Watch the video below to find out how G Suite helps Salesforce staff, from junior to executive level, collaborate and stay on top of their work days. Salesforce and G Suite also seamlessly integrate to make both platforms easier to use and provide detailed data on marketing efforts. Google Drive, Gmail, and nearly every G Suite app is either accessible from Salesforce or attachable to records in Salesforce.
You don’t need to have a business as large as Salesforce to get the most out of G Suite. G Suite is built to scale effortlessly according to the needs of your business, with predictable per-user pricing that allows you to accurately forecast budgets. Contact UpCurve Cloud today to find out how you can get the power of Google to optimize your business.
Resources
See the below for partner and G Suite announcements from Google Next 2019.
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