Starting today, all of Google Workspace is available to anyone with a Google account.
Launched in October as a rebranded G Suite, Workspace offers “everything you need to get anything done, now in one place.” Apps like Gmail, Chat, Calendar, Drive, Docs, Sheets, and Meet are available to consumer, enterprise, and education users to stay in touch, share ideas, and get work done together.
“Over the last year, we’ve delivered innovations that bring together the content, communications, and tasks that help millions of businesses, nonprofits, and classrooms transform how they collaborate, make the most of their time, and have more impact,” Google Workspace’s VP of marketing Kelly Waldher and VP of engineering Aparna Pappu wrote in a blog announcement. “Now we’re bringing those same innovations to everyone else.”
Whether you’re planning the family reunion, assigning tasks to the PTA, or discussing this month’s book club pick, Workspace makes it easy to keep everyone in the loop, sharing ideas and tracking important information.
Get the most out of the integrated Workspace experience by turning on Google Chat, which uses Rooms as a central place to connect, create, and collaborate. The company plans this summer to evolve Rooms to become Spaces—an app for group messaging—with new features like in-line topic threading, presence indicators, custom statuses, expressive reactions, and a collapsible view.
“What’s more, you’ll have peace of mind as you work with others knowing that we designed Google Workspace to operate on a secure foundation, with the projections needed to keep you safe, your data secure, and your information private,” the blog said.
Not everyone works in teams, though, which is why Google is set to introduce Google Workspace Individual, a new subscription aimed at small business owners and solo entrepreneurs that provides premium capabilities (smart booking services, professional video meetings, personalized email marketing, etc.) within their existing Google account.
“Workspace Individual was created to help people focus their time on doing what they love—like meeting with customers and designing personalized services—and less time on everyday tasks like scheduling appointments and emailing customers,” according to Google. The feature is rolling out soon to the US, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Australia, and Japan; interested users can sign up online to receive updates.
