Google Workspace vs G Suite: What’s The Difference?

Google Workspace is the modern evolution of G Suite, designed to meet the needs of today’s fast-paced, often remote, working environment. While G Suite laid the foundation for cloud-based collaboration, Google Workspace unifies those services into a seamless, integrated experience tailored to enhance productivity and teamwork. This guide will clarify what has changed, explore the new features and plans available, and help you decide which solution fits your business needs best.

What Was G Suite and Why Did It Change?

G Suite began as Google Apps for Your Domain in 2006, later renamed G Suite in 2016. It served millions of businesses worldwide with cloud productivity tools including Gmail, Docs, Sheets, Slides, Calendar, and Drive. G Suite gave businesses easy access to cloud-based collaboration long before remote work was mainstream.

However, as work habits evolved, accelerated by the rise of hybrid and remote work, Google upgraded this suite to provide a more integrated and flexible experience. That’s why in October 2020, Google rebranded G Suite as Google Workspace. This wasn’t just about a new name; it marked a shift toward tighter app integration and enhanced features prioritising team collaboration and security.

How Does Google Workspace Differ from G Suite?

Google Workspace offers all core G Suite tools but with fundamental improvements:

• Deeper app integration: You can now create documents directly from chats, preview linked files without switching tabs, and access contact info instantly within documents. These advancements streamline workflows, reducing time lost switching between apps.
• Unified interface and branding: Workspace employs new four-colour icons signalling its unified app ecosystem. This consistent look reinforces the connectedness of workspace tools.
• Expanded collaboration features: Video meetings and chat are integrated more tightly with docs and email, making remote and hybrid teamwork smoother. Features like Meet’s picture-in-picture mode let you multitask without losing sight of collaborators.
• New tiers and pricing: Google Workspace enhances value with plans like Business Plus that offer expanded storage, participant limits, and advanced security tools like Vault and endpoint management.
• Focus on secure remote work: Workspace emphasises safety with enhanced security controls, data loss prevention, mobile device management, and compliance support, which were less prominent in G Suite.

What Are the Key Features of Google Workspace?

Google Workspace continues to include:

• Gmail with custom business emails
• Calendar for scheduling and shared availability
• Drive for cloud file storage and sharing
• Docs, Sheets, Slides for real-time editing and collaboration
• Meet and Chat for video conferencing and messaging
• Forms, Sites, Keep, and AppSheet for surveys, websites, notes, and low-code apps
• Gemini AI integrated across apps for smarter writing, data handling, and research

Noteworthy is the introduction of Google Vault in Business Plus and Enterprise plans which enhances data governance through archiving, retention policies, and eDiscovery capabilities.

The platform also supports pooled storage (30GB in Starter, 2TB in Standard, 5TB in Plus) and a variety of device and security management features to protect sensitive business data and user access.

How Has Pricing Changed from G Suite to Google Workspace?

Google Workspace maintains a tiered pricing structure similar to G Suite but introduces new options:

The new Business Plus tier addresses feature gaps between older G Suite Business plans and Workspace offerings, notably in storage and management functionality.

Protect Your Business Data with BackupVault

While Google Workspace offers built-in security, accidental deletion, ransomware, and user errors remain threats. BackupVault provides automatic, encrypted backups for Google Workspace data, including email, Drive, Calendar, and contacts. Our UK/EU compliant data centres and 24/7 UK-based support help secure your critical business information and guarantee swift recovery when you need it most.

Explore BackupVault’s Google Workspace backup service today for reliable data protection and business continuity. You might find a free trial valuable to safeguard your data and keep your business running smoothly.

The future of work is integrated, secure, and efficient with Google Workspace, supported by BackupVault’s trusted cloud backup services.