Over the past few months Google Apps have released a number of updates that aim to make the user’s experience more enjoyable and to make the product available at anytime on any device. Updates range from; the new mobile app (not to be confused with the existing Drive app) which makes it easier for you to quickly find, edit and create documents, spreadsheets, and presentations on the go; a faster, redesign of the Google Drive UI; the ability to launch Hangouts in Chrome without having to install the plugin (this saves a lot of faffing about for new hangout users!) and much more.
While these updates are great for the users, I as a Google Apps administrator like to see improvements that will enhance my experience whilst maintaining the smooth running of the Google Apps for the company via the Admin Console.
So here are 3 of the upcoming/latest improvements that aim to do just that:-
Domain management of Google Drive Apps
Admins may already be familiar with improvements to Google Apps Marketplace over the past year. From admins being able to find, manage and deploy third-party applications directly from the Admin Console to having the ability to allow their users to install applications that integrate with Google Drive (not possible if this was disabled). The latest update allows admins to ‘whitelist’ the Drive applications that their users can install.
What does this mean for you?
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Wider accessibility to your users whilst still having the control on what can apps can be installed.
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Your domain’s app maintenance all in one place.
Cloud based migration of email to Google Apps
This upcoming update, due to rolled out in the next two weeks, is going to make email migration easier for your admins. Using Google Apps cloud-based data migration service in the admin console you can simply enter basic information about the environment from which you’re migrating, specify what to include in the migration, and select the users whose email you want to migrate. The admin console allows you to also configure and connect to your mail server and migrate email over to Google’s Gmail servers.
What does this mean for you?
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No need to download tools like Google Apps Migration for Microsoft Exchange and install them on local servers.
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The ability to track the status of the migration for each user account from the Admin Console.
**It is worth noting that the data migration service currently works for email. Support for contacts and calendar migration is currently being developed.
Transfer ownership of Drive files before deleting a user
When a user is deleted from Google Apps, administrators will now be prompted to optionally transfer ownership of any files that are owned by that user. Admins will also have the option to choose to transfer all files that the user owns or only shared files they own unlike before when you could only transfer all files.
It is worth noting that you can restore a recently deleted account for up to five days. After this period, deleted accounts can’t be recovered.
What does this mean for you?
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Take control of deleted or suspended user data.
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More control over what files are transferred meaning less trash and more space in your drive.
**If you are transferring shared calendars make sure the other user has permission to “Make changes AND manage sharing” on the shared calendar.
These are just a few of the updates scheduled/released that are designed to make your experience in Google Apps that little bit better. So keep an eye out for more in the near future.
If you would like further information on Google Apps why not check out my Weekly Blog or if you want to talk to someone pop Desynit’s Shaun Holmes a call.
I’ll see you next week.
Jenny