Google Contacts updated with a new experience for Workspace relationships

Google Workspace is now rolling out a new Contacts experience for all customers, including G Suite Basic and G Suite for Business that gives more information on the connection between colleagues. For example, detailed information regarding an individual’s management chain, department, and title as well as a history of your Workspace relationship together (see below). Any email conversations and meetings will also appear to the right.

This update will help users reach a higher level of effective collaboration, connection, and interaction with one another. One’s network is the center of importance in Workspace, and these relationships should have their individual components spotlight in a way that allows users to take action on them in more meaningful and immediate ways. Google recommends that users who want to benefit most from this feature make certain that their data is fully populated across all Workspace apps via the Users section of the Admin console, the Admin SDK or the Google Cloud Directory Sync.

Other than that, Admins won’t need to take any action to get the above design to appear aside from waiting. It’s already begun to roll out to many and will continue to do so over the next week and a half for both Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains alike. Over at Google Contacts or via the Contacts Sidebar, you can check to see if you’ve received it by opening a specific relationship and viewing its details.

Contacts hasn’t received very many updates over the years, and I’ve always felt it to be a weak CMS by itself compared to the competition. My hope is that Google continues thinking about the service and how it can add value for everyone instead of this being the one and only thing they improve before moving on.