Google Workspace Being Refreshed to Better Assist Frontline and Remote Workers

Workspace will also integrate with Google’s digital voice assistant.

By Nico Grant, Bloomberg | Updated: 2 March 2021 11:51 IST

Google Workspace Being Refreshed to Better Assist Frontline and Remote Workers

A version of Workspace offering will be tailored for frontline workers, like health-care employees

Highlights

Workspace was formerly known as G Suite
Google is trying to make its productivity tools essential to businesses
Workspace has 2.6 billion users, the suite is free for individuals

Google is updating its productivity software to better meet the needs of frontline and remote workers, in a bet that the pandemic has permanently changed how work gets done.

A version of the company's Workspace offering will be tailored specifically for frontline workers, such as retail and health-care employees, the Alphabet unit said in a blog post Monday. The effort will let organisations better communicate and collaborate with employees through their mobile phones, and is similar to a service from rival Microsoft.

Workspace, formerly known as G Suite, will also integrate with Google's digital voice assistant and gain features to let employees set and enforce unique working hours.

Google Chat Getting Redesigned on Web for All Workspace Users: Report

The Internet giant is trying to make its line of productivity tools, including Gmail, Meet videoconferencing, and Docs word processing, essential to businesses that have been upended by the coronavirus pandemic. Employees have had to balance professional and family demands while doing their jobs from home for the last year, spurring a rise in unconventional work hours and other flexible arrangements.

Javier Soltero, vice president and general manager of Workspace, said Google was trying to embrace the “messiness” of work life during the pandemic. “It will never be the same again, but we should use that as an opportunity rather than try to recreate 2018 or 2019,” he added.

With the changes, Workspace will notify employees if they try to message a colleague who's off the clock, and encourage them to time an email for when the co-worker is back online. It's also possible to minimise distractions for periods of time, share employee locations with colleagues, and set up recurring out-of-office messages. Google Assistant will now work with corporate Workspace accounts, letting people send messages and check calendars with their voice.

While Workspace has 2.6 billion users, the suite is free for individuals. Google makes money from the software by signing up business customers and other organisations to paid accounts.
© 2021 Bloomberg LP

Is Samsung Galaxy F62 the best phone under Rs. 25,000? We discussed this on Orbital, our weekly technology podcast, which you can subscribe to via Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or RSS, download the episode, or just hit the play button below.

Affiliate links may be automatically generated - see our ethics statement for details.

Comments

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.