Knowledgebase

Google Gsuite (formally Google Apps) is a powerful method for handling all of your emails, files and calendar under one account.  Some clients prefer to use Google Gsuite as it offers a wide range of features.  Purple Dog has extensive experience in setting up and migrating customers to Google Apps.  If you are not familiar with Google Gsuite, here is an overview that may help you to understand the pros and cons.


***** Advantages of Google Gsuite ******

1) Google Gsuite is a powerful, low cost Software As A Service (SAAS) that provides all kinds of great functionality, such as email, document storage, powerful calendar, and more.

2) Provides cloud based storage that you can increase when you want - enough space for a lifetime of emails / documents!

3) Google Gsuite email is called Gmail - it has great anti-spam capability and of course excellent Google Search built in, so you'll always be able to find historical emails easily and fast.

4) Your customers need never know that you are using Google Gsuite or Gmail because Gmail will remain largely invisible to them - You'll use your own custom domain name email (e.g. [email protected])

5) Gmail can be accessed from any device (e.g. smartphone / tablet / laptop) and anywhere in the world, which means it's great when you're on the move.  If you prefer, you can operate your Gmail account through your favourite desktop email software client e.g. Thunderbird, Outlook, or Mail.  And from the app store, you can install Gmail for iPhone, Android and Windows.

6) Robust network and server support, independent of any third party: Google is well known to have an almost 100% uptime, with multiple fallbacks in case of failure.  Therefore, you'll be taking advantage of a very resilient network that is unlikely to ever fail.  You also have access to a 24/7 support phone number (direct to Google)

7) Collaborative working is made possible through shared calendars and shared file storage, so you and your colleagues can keep track of what's going on in a centralised place.


*** Disadvantages of Google Gsuite ****

1) Although we will handle your move from end-to-end, shifting to and from Google Gsuite can be a bit complex. It's unlikely to lead to a loss of emails or data, but there is always that small possibility - especially if you have years of data to migrate. Migrating large volumes of data can be quite time-consuming and requires careful planning. A fully backed up machine is strongly recommended before we migrate any data and it's significantly easier if you already use a web-based email service (e.g. Outlook or other Gmail).

2) Moving to Google Gsuite requires some DNS changes to your domain name.  We handle this for you and generally there is no loss of emails. However, when DNS changes occur, there is a window of 24 - 72 hours of potential dissruption.  Typically, this in unnoticable, but it is recommended that we make these changes outside of working hours (e.g. on a weekend or late friday afternoon).

3) Compatibility with 3rd party software: Google Gsuite works best with modern software. Anything older than about 10 years will probably not be suitable (e.g. Windows XP or Outlook 2003 are not compatible).

4) TOS and Privacy: Google Gsuite and Gmail is a public / commercial service, so it should be remembered that you will be subscribing to their terms of service and privacy rules, including potentially being tracked by their internal key word scanning algorithms, whatever they may be (you'll probably never know!). Your emails and data is also likely to be routed through Google's USA servers, and according to recent media reports, it is possible that government agencies may be able to read your email. How much concern you have for this is up to you - chance are, if a government agency wants to read your email, they will do it anyway, regardless of which supplier you use!!

5) Support: Because Google Gsuite is a global service provided by a third party, support is not local and not always convenient.  Though you do have access to a support phone number direct to Google, it's important to note that Purple Dog does not have any direct access to Google or Gmail servers (as we do with our own). We can therefore offer limited help & support to our Google Gsuite customers - and usually can easily solve set up / config issues and basic delivery troubleshooting. More complex issues will usually require the involvement of Google support team (which can slow things down a bit).

6) Service Levels: There are times when even Google's servers suffer outages - though it's extremely rare. In over 10 years of using Gmail, my experience has been excellent - that being said, you should know that Purple Dog are not responsible for deficiency or loss of emails / service resulting in your use of Google Gsuite (as I have said, this is rare and hardly worth worrying about).

If you would like more information about Google Apps, please get in touch.