It appears that Google is making an attempt to reinvent itself now that the company is becoming more of a household name for not only services but also hardware. The highly-anticipated Chromecast comes bearing a remote but also introduces the completely reimagined Google TV that will take the place of Play Movies & TV in an effort to become a competitive all-in-one media hub and content curation service. In the company’s latest move, G Suite and all of its connected services will now be known as Google Workspace but the change is more than just a simple rebranding.
According to the official announcement, Google Workspace will soon offer a tailored experience for small businesses and larger enterprises based on the specific needs of the customer. These offerings range from just the essential basics such as video chat and online collaboration to full-blown enterprise packages with prebuilt packages for up to 250 users and custom solutions for entities of 300 or more.
- For smaller businesses, we’re introducing tailored offerings that make it easy and cost-effective to get started with Google Workspace— including best-in-class collaboration and productivity tools, security protections, and administrative controls.
- For larger enterprises, we’re introducing a set of offerings with additional productivity features, enterprise-grade administrative controls, and our most advanced security and compliance capabilities, available at both the team and organization level.
In addition to a new name and more user control over software suites, a number of core G Suite and consumer services are getting a new skin. You can see in the image and video below that Gmail, Docs, Meet, Drive and the Calander are all updated to the familiar Google colors with the new 2-D folded paper look. This brings the majority of Google’s consumer and enterprise-facing products up to date and in line with the company’s Material Design 2.0.
These updates come on the heels of some significant enhancements to Google Meet and Gmail. While I’m sure that Google has been working on these changes for some time, I would bet that much of this change is in response to the “new normal” that has left millions learning how to work remotely and collaborate in ways that were previously foreign. The new Workspace will be one piece in a massive puzzle to keep as many services in-house as possible for companies and institutions that rely on or are looking to adopt the platform formerly known as G Suite. The roll-out is effective immediately for Basic, Essential, and Enterprise customers with the change happening in a few months for G Suite Education accounts. Google has vowed to aide in making the transition as smooth as possible. For many users, this update will simply mean a new look for products that are already in place.
I’m not sure if Google’s plan is leading in this direction but I feel that this rebranding is not only necessary but also very beneficial for marketing. Google is finally establishing itself as an all-encompassing entity that offers software solutions as well as a variety of hardware platforms for consumer, commercial, and educational use. Wrangling as many products as possible under the simple “Google” brand should make for more cohesive and recognizable brand awareness as users become increasingly aware of Google’s many offerings in various spaces. That may not be the company’s intention at all but I’d love to see the folks in Mountain View doling out products and services in the clean and simple manner of here, try out “Google fill-in-the-blank” but that’s just me. You can find more information on the new Google Workspace on the Google Cloud Blog.
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