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5 Announcements from Google I/O that Google Apps Customers Need to Know

2 minute read

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The keynote presentation of Google I/O 2014 has come and gone, with Google spending a large amount of time touting the options for developers across Google’s various platforms.

While Android Auto and wearables are exciting to see, they don’t really concern Google Apps customers. Fortunately, Google snuck in some really exciting announcements for Google Apps, specifically Google Drive.

1. Google brings ‘Drive to Work’ with brand-new unlimited option

This premium version of Google Apps, interchangeably called ‘Google Apps Unlimited’ and ‘Drive for Work’,  offers plenty of new features for Google Apps at $10 per user per month, making it an extremely attractive option for enterprise customers. The features included in Google Apps Unlimited are unlimited storage, Google Vault, and advanced Drive controls, auditing, and reporting features, in addition to everything else included in Google Apps for Business.

2. Google Drive redesigned to be faster and easier to use

In order to push the ‘Drive for Work’ motto, Google has made some of the biggest design changes to Google Drive since its creation. From the video above, you can see that the Google Drive interface is completely different than before. Google touts this redesign as even “easier to take some of the most common actions simply click once on a file to see recent activity, share with friends, or enable offline access.” The new Google Drive for web interface will be made available over the coming weeks.

3. Redline editing comes to Google Docs as Suggested Edits

Depending on who you are, the announcement that Google Docs now supports redline editing may have been the most exciting news from yesterday. Redline editing, called Suggested Edits in Google Docs, has been a barrier to entry for many companies considering Google Apps, and now it’s available for everyone!

4. Deeper integration makes working with Microsoft Office files even easier

Speaking of barriers to entry, many customers have been reluctant to adopt Google Drive because it has been difficult for them to give up Microsoft Office. Yesterday’s announcement means that Google Apps users no longer need to be concerned with converting an Office file to Docs, and then back to the Microsoft format. Now, Google will do all the work for you!

5. Google Apps Vault finally supports Google Drive

It has been a long time coming, but Google Apps Vault finally supports Google Drive as an additional data source. Best of all, it comes at no additional cost for existing Vault customers and new customers. Learn more about this announcement here.

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