I Am Thankful for Google Workspace

Today we are continuing our series on four programs and services that I am thankful for. Today we will talk about the third on my list, which is Google Workspace. You might have heard of this before, when it was called Google Suite. I have used Google and its tools for storage, word processing, and spreadsheets. I recently switched everything over from using Dropbox as storage and backup due to the price of Dropbox going up.

Today, I am going to give you four reasons why I am thankful for Google Workspace and why you should use it in your business.

Reason number one is that Google Workspace is an all-in-one tool that has many features. Let’s talk about what is included in Google Workspace. Similar to Google Suite, all of the Google workspace plans provide a custom email for your business and include collaboration tools like Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Meet, Google Chat, Documents, Sheets, Slides, Forms, Sites, and more. On a daily basis, I use Gmail, Calendar, Google Drive, and Google Sheets. I use Google Docs often, as well as Google Forms.

You may be asking what is included in the free version of Google Workspace. With the free version, you can use Google Drive, Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Meet, and Google Chat. The other pieces you have to upgrade to get access to I do have the upgraded version. This gives me more storage. I also have mine set up to allow me to use my domain name as part of my email through Gmail. It is Alyssa@AlyssaAvantandcompany.com, and it goes through Gmail to give me the ability to use a professional email address. I only pay $12.00 per month for my Google workspace. That fee gives me two terabytes of storage in my Google Drive. There is a full range of plans available for you to meet whatever business needs you have. I highly recommend it to anyone with a business. The all-in-one tool and its features are the first reason I am thankful for Google Workspace.

Reason number two is the ability to share with others. I mentioned that I had used DropBox for a number of years. I share a ton of files with my clients. Google Workspace is easier to use than DropBox when sharing files. When using DropBox, you have to upload a file to DropBox, and then it syncs with the person you are sharing it with. After it syncs to the person you are sharing with, that person would have to download the file and edit the file on their computer, and then they would have to sync it back to you through DropBox, and you would have to wait until the file is ready. Many times, syncing does not work as quickly as you would like it to. You might both edit a file and simultaneously upload it, which in turn means you may not get the right version.  

With Google Workspace, you can edit the document you are sharing at the same time as the person that you are sharing it with in real time. You can also see when the other person is editing in real time. If I am on my computer working on a shared file, then my client, or whoever I am sharing a file with, can be on their computer and see me update the file as soon as I do it. This was a game changer for me and one of the major reasons that I changed from Drop Box to Google Workspace. 

The third reason is that I love the search capabilities in Google Drive. You can share drives, files, and folders. If you are having difficulty searching for something, Google Drive gives you the ability to search for what you are looking for by file type (PDF, JPG, etc.), who shared it with you, and even the last date modified. This is a huge time saver, to say the least. There are many times I need to find the original of something that has been in my Google Drive for a long time so that I can update it, and if I know the above information, I can search for it with the search bar. 

Reason number four is the amount of money it has saved me on office tools. Before I began using Google Workspace, I was having to purchase the Microsoft Office Suite, which was pretty costly to my business because I needed Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Spreadsheets, and all of those tools. You would have to update these tools on a regular basis. This program is now called Microsoft 365. Microsoft 365 is very similar to Google Suite in that it is a subscription, but it is much more costly than Google Docs. Google Docs is completely free and is part of the Google Workspace system. I started using Google Docs and Google Suite to save money and not have to utilize all of the costly Microsoft products.

These are the four reasons that I am thankful for Google Workspace and why I recommend it to you. If you have any questions, I would be happy to answer them. I have helped some of my clients set up Google Workspace and move all of their files over. It isn’t as overwhelming as it sounds, and they have been very satisfied with it. I am thankful for Google Workspace.

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