A layman’s guide to using G Suite

Ian Job
6 min readOct 4, 2020
G Suite’s Mobile Apps
Photo by Elle Cartier on Unsplash

G Suite is a collection of online apps by Google that businesses and individuals could use to enhance workflow and productivity. Before this suite came along, you probably depended on Microsoft Office to get anything done in a team setting.

Back then, your supervisor asked you to do the reports in excel sheets then insert them in an Office Word document before finally making a presentation using PowerPoint. After using all these apps separately, you had to attach the final copy to an email, which the boss man only became aware of during the project meeting.

Simply put, it was an archaic way to collaborate, and even though it had a few advantages, they were outweighed by the workflow structure’s inefficiency. Loyal customers upgraded to Office 365, a direct rival to Google’s solution, which has become a favorite among work teams.

For the past 14 years, G Suite has attracted six million paying companies and 120 million-plus users who utilize it for educational purposes. Before we go on with this G Suite review, here are the benefits and challenges these millions of users face.

Pros

  • Advanced team collaboration features.
  • Advanced security for user data.
  • Cheaper than the competition.
  • Unlimited cloud storage space.
  • Customizable business email.
  • Free for educational use.
  • Easily accessible.
  • Requires the internet for access.
  • Not fully optimized for the enterprise.
  • It cannot be installed on a desktop.
  • Glitches within individual apps.

Cons

  1. Requires the internet for access.
  2. Not fully optimized for the enterprise.
  3. It cannot be installed on a desktop.
  4. Glitches within individual apps.

Checklist To Follow Before Subscribing To G Suite

G Suite will make your small advertising agency appear huge and successful to potential customers. The one important feature is that subscribers get a personalized business email.

You will have more chances of success when you communicate with your clients using a business email than you would ever have using a generic email address such as an @gmail, @aol, @outlook, or @yahoo.

G Suite Pricing

https://gsuite.google.com/pricing.html

So, here are things to help you make a wise choice between the $6, $12, and the $25 per user.

  1. How effective are the tools currently being used by your team?
  2. Are the devices in your organization compatible with G Suite?
  3. Are you satisfied with the free version of the application?
  4. What is the required learning curve before implementation?
  5. Do you need all the features in a particular G Suite subscription?

If you are a large enterprise outfit, you are better off integrating Office 365 because it is more suited for big organizations. On the other hand, the Google alternative is suitable for small teams that are probably less than 20 in total.

What The Paid Version Of G Suite Can Do For You

Custom G Suite Gmail

As mentioned before, in this G Suite review, one of the main benefits is that users can come up with functional custom emails. These are similar to the custom emails you can create after registering a domain name.

Individuals and businesses will take you more seriously if you use your customized email made up of your name/ title and the company’s name.

Another benefit is that you can offer your employees custom emails that are personalized and branded with the company’s domain. And it is all backed by one the most reliable and efficient email hosting services today. To learn about how to set this up effectively, watch this configuration video.

Terabytes Of Space

In today’s world of videos and multimedia content, our devices tend to fill up pretty quickly due to the enormous spaces occupied by these file types. One solution is to use cloud services, but then you will have to pay for extra storage.

Third-party cloud storage fees become expensive, the more your operations expand. G Suite offers unlimited cloud storage services for your team to move around files of any size without worrying about additional costs and accessibility.

Another aspect of Google Drive is that the security of your data is unmatched in the industry. Watch this clip, which thoroughly explains the unlimited space offer.

Team Communication

Efficient communication is the cornerstone of improved productivity at any organization. A majority of companies use various tools from different providers, which results in inconsistencies in people not being on the same page.

G Suite’s solution to that is users’ ability to message on Hangouts, Gmail, and add comments on worksheets such as Google Docs and Google Sheets. This video refers to Hangouts as an alternative to Slack.

Google Calendar

Our attention span is worse than that of a goldfish, and Google Calendar was designed to alleviate that. This tool could create a strong bond between you and your customers.

For instance, remembering important events such as client birthdays is an effective way to convert them. This application has a wide range of more practical possibilities than the premium versions of rival products. Here is training on making the most out of your calendar tool.

G Suite Creation Tools

These include:

  • Google Docs.
  • Google Sheets.
  • Google Keep.
  • Google’s app maker tool.

Google Docs is similar to Microsoft Word, but the latter has more advanced features. Google Keep is an advanced notepad that supports multimedia capabilities such as images and voice. When you need to create personalized tools to boost your team’s efficiency, the App Maker will be the product you will be using. This comprehensive G Suite review video will turn you into a G Suite expert.

User Feedback

Customer feedback is essential to improving a product, and it is also a useful way to understand a tool before deciding to use it. Here are comments by regular G Suite users.

TrustRadius user feedback on G-suite 1
TrustRadius user feedback on G-suite 2
TrustRadius user feedback on G-suite 3
TrustRadius user feedback on G-suite 4

Are There Capable Alternatives To G Suite?

Microsoft Office 365

For the price of 12 dollars, you get a free domain and to the ever-powerful Office Suite. As much as Google Docs is gaining popularity by the day, so far, there is no other product that offers the advanced editing and creation tools found in Word, Excel, Access, Publisher, and the rest.

You may have to cough up more for additional storage as compared to the unlimited offer by Google.

Zoho CRM

This one is more customer marketing-oriented, whereas G Suite is designed to improve a team’s workflow. Therefore, you can switch to Zoho if you need to take charge of your customer acquisition and retention and take it to the next level.

Chances are, you may end up using the two solutions, where G Suite will keep your team productive as Zoho supports the customer.

Conclusion

Many small businesses are not making any progress because customers don’t seem to take them seriously when they see a generic email from a supposedly professional organization. The custom business email from G Suite solves this problem and also provides other tools to keep the team members on the same page.

This suite replaces the problem of using different incompatible third-party tools to keep the business running smoothly. The fact that it’s also cloud-based means that company data can be accessed from anywhere on earth, and teams can collaborate in real-time projects.

The unlimited storage feature allows a business to effectively create a database without worrying about additional charges or being locked out for not paying cloud storage fees.

As working from home becomes the new norm, click here to find out how G Suite can grow your business.

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Ian Job

Digital marketing expert who helps businesses grow online. Lead generation, keyword research, SEO, copywriting, website management and creation (WordPress).