Are you looking for ways to increase productivity at the office? Just start a new business and need a few email addresses? Tired of attaching excel spreadsheets back and forth in emails, always losing track of which one is the most up-to-date?
We’ve all been there. Thanks to Google Apps for Work, you can solve all of these problems with a simple, inexpensive solution, backed by one of the largest tech companies on the planet: Google.
Google Apps for Work is a suite of online business & productivity tools that helps you get more done. It includes software for email, documents, spreadsheets, slides/presentations, calendar/events, instant messaging, video conferencing and much more. One of its greatest advantages is the built-in, real-time collaboration.
I’ve helped several companies switch from run-of-the-mill, free solutions to Google Apps for Work. Rightfully so, decision-makers want to understand the ROI. Google Apps is available for $5/user/month, which is a small price to pay for everything it includes. But depending on how many employees you have, that might not be an insignificant amount of money.
It’s for this reason that I present to you a list of 22 reasons why switching to Google Apps for Work is totally worth it. (I threw a few bonus reasons in there)
Once you’re sold on switching, click here to start your free, 30-day trial today.
1. Be More Professional with Your Own Domain
I realize it’s super-easy (and free) to create a [email protected]
account. In fact, I actually recommend that all businesses do this. But not as their primary email address. Gmail accounts are great for personal use, but they just don’t look professional when being used by a business. You should be using your website’s domain name to setup email accounts. [email protected]
tells your customers that you are serious about your business, and they can expect professional communication.
Multiple Domains & Domain Aliases
Google Apps for Work not only lets you use your own domain name for email, but you can add multiple domains for free. If your business manages a few online properties, each with a unique domain name, you can set them up as domain aliases in Google Apps, for no extra fee. Everything gets managed under one Google Apps Admin Console, so adding or removing users is a breeze.
2. No Downtime
In the 8 years I’ve been using Google Apps for Work, I’ve only had one 5-minute period when there was a glitch in service. It lasted all of about 20 minutes before everything was back to normal.
Google’s servers are some of the most widespread, secure & powerful in the business. There are multiple backups in case a single server goes down, which means a near guarantee that you’ll have a working service.
Also, when you sign up for Google Apps for Work, you enter into a service level agreement (SLA). Google App’s SLA will even award you free days of service for the smallest amount of downtime. You can check the Google Apps Status dashboard to view a calendar of uptime, downtime & any issues that occurred. Most weeks, no issues were reported. And when issues do arise, they typically affect less than 0.003% of customers, and are resolved within 1-2 hours (at most).
In my experience, email provided by most hosting companies does not compare to what Google can offer. Even Microsoft’s Outlook.com services are not as reliable as Google Apps.
3. Big Companies Trust Google Apps for Work
According to Google, over 2 million businesses are running Google Apps for Work, and over 60% of the Fortune 500 use Google Apps (as of May 2016). FedEx, Hyundai, Netflix, Shutterfly, Trulia, Keller Williams Realty and Perry Ellis are all on the list of big companies using Google Apps for Work.
4. Built on Google’s Infrastructure
The Google Cloud Platform is used by over 4 million applications, including the likes of Spotify, Snapchat & the Khan Academy. It’s the very same infrastructure that powers services like Google Search, YouTube, Gmail and others. By using Google Apps for Work, you benefit from the same powerful, secure & flexible platform. If Google Search or YouTube’s website went down for even a few minutes, they would lose hundreds of thousands of dollars in revenue. So you know you can count on them to keep things up and running.
5. Access Anywhere, On All Devices
Because everything with Google Apps for Work is stored in the cloud, all of your files are synchronized between devices. You can access your mail, calendar, contacts, and files on any device, all under one account. Syncing occurs almost immediately (if you choose to auto-sync). As soon as you delete an email on your phone, it disappears from the desktop app.
Google chats (also known as Hangouts) are also synced on all devices. Start a chat on your laptop, then immediately resume it on your phone as you leave your desk. Never skip a beat.
It doesn’t matter whether you use a Windows computer, Macbook, iPad, iPhone or Android device, with Google Apps for Work, everything is always at your fingertips.
6. Mobile Integration
Google Apps for Work supports mobile access on multiple platforms, including Android & iOS. You can download native apps for Gmail, Calendar, Drive, Docs, Sheets & Slides—even access the Admin Console right from your mobile phone. Everything syncs automatically & instantaneously with the cloud. Your work follows you everywhere you go.
Using Google Apps new Mobile Management, you can add or remove users, update security settings, change permissions, create groups and more, all from the app on your phone.
7. Data Backup
Everything with Google Apps is stored in the cloud, on Google’s servers. You don’t have to worry about your hard-drive crashing, dropping your computer in the pool, or other unforeseen disasters. Just pull out your phone, or hop on your friend’s laptop, and everything is right where you left it. Just login to your account, and every email, file, calendar event, etc. is there waiting for you.
8. Advanced Security
Google takes security very seriously. They have recently (early 2016) introduced an entire set of mobile management features that help you manage Google Apps on your employee’s personal devices. They can use their own device for all the personal things they’re used to, and you can still make sure your business data is protected.
- Enable screen locking for certain apps
- Show employees which apps are pre-approved for installation
- Require passwords
- Remotely wipe data from a device
From the Admin Console, you can see what’s happening across of your registered devices.
9. 24/7 Support
Ever had an issue with Gmail, Calendar, or couldn’t figure something out in one of your Google Docs? We all have. It’s frustrating. Aside from those issues, many people only use about 20% of what these services can actually do. Wouldn’t you love to become even more efficient with your day-to-day communication?
Google Apps for Work users have access to 24/7 phone & email support, directly from Google. They’ll walk you through whatever it is you need help with, and follow-up to make sure you are satisfied. I called Google Apps help with an email routing question, and the guy explained everything in full detail. He then followed up 2 days later to make sure the issue was resolved. It was a great experience.
10. Google Drive – Documents, Spreadsheets, Slides & More
Google Drive will become your new file server, in addition to your new word processor, spreadsheet application & presentation builder. A true all-in-one. No more product licenses to renew, software to install, etc. Additional benefits of using Google Drive over Microsoft Word, Excel & Powerpoint include:
- Everything is saved automatically as you type
- See revision history, and revert back to a previous version
- Collaborate with teammates on a document. You will see changes in real-time, as they type.
- Upload & store PDFs, photos, audio, video, .zip files and more.
- Sync Google Drive with your desktop so you can access files directly from your computer’s file system
- Never attach a document to an email again
If you’re used to using Microsoft products and saving everything on your computer, Google Drive will completely revolutionize the way you work.
11. Calendars for Every Occasion
The possibilities are endless when you get all your employees on the same schedule.
- Choose to share just free/busy status, or all details of your events
- Create calendars for each office location, or for specific types of events
- Allow managers to setup available blocks for employees to schedule one-on-one meetings
- Quickly see who is free/busy in real-time
- Create a dropdown list of rooms in which meetings can be scheduled
- See all calendars at once, or easily toggle on/off certain calendars for an uncluttered view
- Delegate management capabilities of your calendar to an assistant
12. Minimal Learning Curve
Chances are, many people in your organization are already using Gmail for personal email. Some have probably used a Google Calendar before. Since Google Apps for Work uses these same apps, some of your employees will have little to no learning curve. Less time training your employees on a new system means more time shipping your product.
13. Easy Account Setup & Management
Adding new users in Google Apps is a breeze. You setup default permissions & app access in advance, and each new user can inherit these permissions, or you can customize what they have access to. Google makes it easy to manage permissions at the company level, but also provides the ability to control each user.
Need to remove a user who no longer works with you? You can instantly change their password, lock them out of their account (on all devices), and even transfer their emails, files & events to another user. All from within the Admin Console.
Granular Permissions Settings
There are permissions for nearly everything, and they can be controlled on a user-by-user basis. Google Apps also maintains an activity log of all events. You can see when the last person logged in, if they shared a document, created an event, etc.
14. Groups for Sharing Files & Managing Permissions
If you have several teams within your organization, each performing a different function, groups very well could be a lifesaver for you.
15. Collaborate with Your Team
Collaborate on EVERYTHING.
- Simultaneously edit a Google Doc with a co-worker
- Share your monthly spreadsheet report with everyone on your team
- Send files during a chat, or share slides during a group video Hangout
- Embed & open files directly from the Gmail app; no more large attachments
- Create video calls & link files to an upcoming meeting on your calendar
16. Chat & Video Conferencing
With more and more companies embracing remote workers, finding alternate ways to communicate is becoming increasingly important. With Google Apps for Work, you can send instant messages via Hangouts (one-on-one and group chats), or start a video call.
- Video chat with up to 25 people at once
- Enjoy the same great experience on your laptop, tablet or phone
- Share photos & documents in real-time, as you chat
- Share your screen so others can see what you’re seeing
17. Near Flawless Email Deliverability
Other email platforms (for example, Network Solutions Webmail) are notorious for deliverability issues. I’ve had multiple clients whose legitimate emails were not going through because Network Solutions was either returning them to the sender, or marking them as spam. With the Gmail App, if it’s a legitimate email, it will be delivered, 99.9% of the time.
18. Superior Spam Filtering
Everyone hates spam, and unfortunately in today’s world, it’s showing no signs of slowing down. The Gmail App handles spam with near perfection.
In 8+ years of using Google Apps for Work, I can count the number of spam messages that reached my inbox on one hand. Gmail catches just about everything. There is an occasional false-positive that reaches my spam folder, but those are almost always ecommerce-based newsletters or automated emails (password resets, etc.).
You also have several options in the Google Apps Admin Console to control spam.
- Check a box to enable “more aggressive filtering” if you’re receiving lots of spam in your inbox (you likely won’t need this)
- Add domain names to your approved senders list, so all emails from that company make it through
- Add specific email addresses to your approved senders list. This gives you more granular control.
- Create custom whitelists & blacklists of specific IP addresses
- Setup category filters to more aggressively filter out certain types of spam emails
And you can apply these changes to all users across your entire organization. Set it once and it’s active for everyone.
19. Email & File Retention
In the unfortunate event that you lose an employee, rest assured. You’ll still have access to all of their emails, calendar events, files, etc. Gone are the days of trying to track down an important Google Doc that is owned by an ex-employee’s personal gmail account.
- Easily change the owner of all Google Docs & calendar events that belonged to that person
- Change their password; lock them out of their account; forward all their email to someone else
20. More Storage Space
Personal Google accounts come with 15GB of storage. Google Apps for Work doubles your storage space up to 30GB. This is shared between Gmail and Google Docs, but native Docs, Sheets & Slides do not count against your storage. Only photos, PDFs, and other uploaded files count towards your usage.
If you need more than 30GB per user, simply pay $10/month instead of $5, and you get unlimited storage space, plus a host of other enterprise-level features.
BONUS REASONS…
21. Work Offline
Camping in the mountains? Stuck in a car for 2 hours? Whatever the reason, even when you don’t have an internet connection, you can still get things done. Google Apps for Work allows you to download your data to your local machine so that you can work offline. Once you regain internet access, it will sync all changes back to the cloud.
Enable offline access on a file-by-file basis, or choose which emails you’d like to access. Google Apps handles the rest.
22. Apps & Extensions
For many businesses, the apps provided with Google Apps for Work are all you need. However, if you’re looking for more, there is likely an app for it. Because of the popularity of Google Apps, and with it being so developer-friendly, developers have created many apps that work alongside Google Apps.
- Looking to integrate your CRM software with Gmail?
- Want to share your website wireframes in Google Slides?
- Trying to sync data between Google Sheets & your project management software?
The Google Apps for Work Marketplace has hundreds of additional apps for everything from task management, data syncing, design tools, video software, quizzes & assessments and much more.
If you have any questions about switching to Google Apps for Work, or need help with setup, shoot me an email. I’d love to help.
And I might still have a 20% off coupon which is good for your entire first year. I only have a few. First come, first served.
Huge shout out to Kristen at nfusion for helping compile this list.
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