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Mandatory Google Workspace Transitions Begin

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Google Cloud PartnerIf you have not completed your transition from G Suite to Google Workspace, Google will automatically begin Google Workspace transitions on January 31, 2022.  You will receive at least 30 days notice of your migration.

Please note that this transition includes significant changes to your subscription options, features/functions, AND PRICING.

Google Workspace

KEY POINTS TO KNOW:

  • Disruption: The transition is non-disruptive to end users and administrators, unless you decide to transition to a subscription with different features.
  • Pricing: Depending on your size and current G Suite services, keeping the same features may result in price increases of 50% to more than 300% (see below).
  • Savings: Cumulus Global can manage your transition, help you select the best Google Workspace for your business, and offer discount incentives for making your transition before the end of the year.

YOUR KEY DECISION:

You need to decide if you want to manage your transition or wait for Google to transition your subscription automatically.

If you chose to manage your transition, we can:

  • Save you money with Google-supported incentive discounts, provided we schedule your transition before the end of the year.
  • Help you select the best subscription plan/mix for your business, ensuring your business and security needs are met at the lowest cost.
  • Schedule your transition at a time that works for you and your team.
  • Educate your IT team on any new end-user, admin, and security features.
  • Support your IT team and end users.

YOUR MANAGED TRANSITION

To learn more about Managed Transitions, please contact us by email, or use the following form:


RESOURCES

In addition to more information in the “About” sections, below, we offer the following resources as well:

About: Automatic Transitions

Google will begin automatic transitions on January 31, 2022.

  • For annual subscriptions, the transition will occur at the end of your current annual or fixed term contract.
  • Companies on “Flex Plan”, month-t0-month services, Google will transition your account as quickly as possible
  • Google will determine the Google Workspace subscription based on your current product features, even if this change results in a significant price increase
  • Automatic transitions are not eligible for incentives or other discounts

About: Pricing Changes

The three biggest impacts on your Google Workspace pricing are your number of licenses,  features, and storage.

License Count

Companies with fewer than 300 users can select from three Google Workspace Business subscriptions.  Companies with more than 300 users will need to select from the two Google Workspace Enterprise subscriptions.  While you can mix and match licenses within the Business and Enterprise tiers, you cannot mix and match Business and Enterprise subscriptions.

Impact for companies with more than 300 users:

  • Companies running G Suite Basic, will see their per user license fees increase form $6 per month to at least $20 per month.
  • Companies running G Suite Business, will see their per user license fees increase form $12 per month to at least $20 per month.

Features

The biggest feature impact for most companies will be their use of Vault.  Companies running G Suite Basic and Google Vault, or running G Suite Business (which includes Vault), will need to transition to Google Workspace Business Plus. Because both Google Workspace Enterprise subscriptions include Vault, any company with more than 300 users will have Vault due to the license count-based migration requirements.

Impact for companies using Vault (with 300 or fewer users):

  • Companies running G Suite Basic plus Vault, will see their per user license fees increase form $11 per month to $18 per month.
  • Companies running G Suite Business, will see their per user license fees increase form $12 per month to at least $18 per month.

Storage

Added storage is no longer an option with Google Workspace. Because you can mix and match licenses within the Business and Enterprise tiers, you may need to transition users to different subscriptions based on their storage needs.

The Google Workspace subscriptions offer the following per-user storage:

  • Business Starter = 30GB, no Shared Drives
  • Business Standard = 2 TB, aggregated across the domain, with Shared Drives
  • Business Plus = 5 TB, aggregated across the domain, with Shared Drives
  • Enterprise Standard = Unlimited storage, with Shared Drives
  • Enterprise Plus = Unlimited storage, with Shared Drives

Other Changes: Vault Former Employee Licenses

Vault Former Employee (VFE) licenses are free or discounted Vault licenses for users that no longer have active G Suite accounts.  With the transition to Google Workspace, VFE licenses are no longer available; VFE licenses will transition to Archive User Licenses (AUL).

Archive User Licenses are NOT FREE. The per user per month pricing for AULs is as follows:

  • AUL – Business = $4
  • AUL – Enterprise Standard = $5
  • AUL – Enterprise Plus = $7

Companies with VFE licenses should plan for alternate retention strategies or potentially significant licensing fees.

 

Quick Guide to Your Google Workspace Transition

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Google Workspace

G Suite to Google Workspace Transition is Happening Now

According to Google support, “Now is the time to transition your customers’ G Suite Basic and G Suite Business subscriptions to Google Workspace. Beginning February 1, 2023, Google will automatically transition your customers once they are eligible.”

In October 2020, Google announced the transition of its productivity platform from G Suite to Google Workspace.  More than a simple branding change, the Google transition includes significant changes to your subscription options, features/functions, and pricing.

Big Picture of the Google Workspace Transition

  • Google Workspace has two subscription tiers: Business and Enterprise
    • The Google Workspace Business tier offers three subscription options: Business Starter, Business Standard, and Business Plus
      • You may mix and match subscription types within the Business tier based on user and group needs
      • You total user count (licenses) cannot exceed 300
    • The Google Workspace Enterprise tier offers two options: Enterprise Standard and Enterprise Plus
      • You may mix and match subscriptions within the Enterprise tier
      • You have no limited on the number of user licenses

Read more about Google Workspace Plans and Pricing.

Impacts of the Transition From G Suite to Google Workspace

Vault

As part of the repackaging, Google Vault is no longer available as an add-on.  G Suite Business subscriptions and G Suite Basic subscriptions with Vault as an add-on, will need to move some or all of their users to Google Workspace Business Plus.  At standard pricing, this means a price increase from $11 or $12 per user per month up to $18 per user per month.  For businesses that need Vault for regulatory or industry compliance, this increase in unavoidable.

License Counts

From companies with more than the 300 users, Google is forcing a move to the Google Workspace Enterprise tier.  While Google offered a grace period allowing companies with more than 300 users to transition to Google Workspace Business subscriptions for up to 3 years, the offer has expired and is not expected to return.

The impact is a standard price increase from G Suite Basic and G Suite Business at $6 and $12 per user per month, respectively, to $20 per user per month for Workspace Enterprise Standard.  As noted, below, we can help with Google Workspace transition incentives and discounts to help mitigate the increase.

Storage

Workspace Business Standard and Workspace business Plus have 2TB and 5TB per user, respectively. This storage is pooled and available to all users, reducing the likelihood that specific users will need additional storage space.  While rare, some businesses running G Suite Business with unlimited storage are above those limits.  This will also become an issue over time for some businesses, particularly those that work with large files, such as CAD, images, and video.

Big Incentives

Working with Google, we are able offer incentive and discounts for transitioning from G Suite to Google Workspace.

  • Incentives and discounts are greater if you transition before your annual renewal date
  • Greater discounts exist if you are willing to commit to a 2 or 3 year term, instead of a 1 year term
  • Incentives change quarterly and, generally, become less generous over time, so reach out to us for details and your specific options
  • We will work with Google to address any unique requirements and circumstances

Incentives and smart subscription and license planning will save you money and mitigate any cost increase related to your G Suite to Google Workspace transition.

Your Next Steps for the Google Workspace Transition

  1. Check out our Quick Guide – Google Workspace Transition that covers migration paths and the impact on features and costs.
  2. Contact us to discuss and map out your transition from G Suite to Google Workspace, or use schedule a brief call with one of our Cloud Advisors directly.


Managing the Impact of the G Suite Price Increase

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G SuiteTo help manage the impact of the pricing increase, we are able to offer renewal and upgrade discounts based on your current licensing. Converting from Monthly/Flex to Annual locks in the current pricing for a year. Upgrading your G Suite Version provides you a discount off the current upgrade pricing for 12 to 24 months.

Convert Monthly/Flex to Annual

  • For clients using G Suite Basic or G Suite Business on the Monthly/Flex plan, we can mitigate the increase by switching you to the annual prepaid plan before the end of March.  
  • Doing so secures the current $50 per user or $120 per user annual cost until your renewal in 2020.

G Suite Basic to Business Upgrade

  • For clients using G Suite Basic, you can take advantage of upgrade discounts to G Suite Business.
  • The discounts up to 33% off current prices based on the commitments of 12, 15, or 18 months.
  • At the end of this promotional term, your subscription resets to the new pricing.

G Suite Business to Enterprise Upgrade

  • For clients using G Suite Business, you can upgrade to G Suite Business with discounts up to 38% off current pricing, based on the term commitment of up to 24 months.  
  • At the end of this promotional term, your subscription resets to the new pricing.

While we expect additional upgrade incentives after the price increase takes effect, the above offers expire at the end of March.

To assess your G Suite service and determine if any of these options are right for you, please contact us for a Cloud Advisor Session.

G Suite Business Upgrade Incentives

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G SuiteThrough June 30, 2018, you can upgrade from G Suite Basic to G Suite Business and save up to 33%.

To qualify, you must:

  • Running G Suite Basic with at least 1 user (no minimum user limit)
  • Upgrade before June 3o, 2018
  • If you are on an annual commitment plan, you can upgrade during your renewal
  • If you are on the monthly flex plan, you can upgrade at anytime
  • Contact us and let us know you want the savings

Why G Suite Business?

  • Unlimited Gmail and Drive Storage
  • Team Drives for central ownership and management of files
  • Email Archiving, eDiscovery, DLP for simple legal compliance
  • Advanced reports and admin alerts for better usage visibility
  • “Org” unit controls to adjust access and sharing rights by department
  • THE platform for new features, such as AppMaker and AI/machine learning enabled services

For more information, contact us, or see what our clients say about G Suite Business.

 

Driving G Suite Upgrades

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G SuiteG Suite Business is the recommended G Suite subscription for most small and midsize businesses. Many of our clients have upgraded already, so we asked them what is driving them to make the move. In no particular order, our clients tell us that with G Suite Business, you get:

Better File Services

  • Team Drives gives you central ownership and management of files.
  • Combined with Drive File Stream, you can create a file service that looks and feels more like a file server and benefit from easier integration with desktop applications. (We blogged about this in Oct ’17)
  • Unlimited storage gives you the ability to move files from servers and workstations without worry.
  • You can offload inactive files from past projects, prior years, etc., into online, secure, searchable archives. This can save you from upgrading or replacing on-premise servers and storage.

Help with Compliance

  • The Vault service included with G Suite Business is a critical component for your information security and compliance requirements, including HIPAA, PCI, Sarbanes/Oxley, SEC, and FINRA.
  • Vault archives and provides compliant e-discovery for email, files in Drive, and Hangout chats.

Cost Savings

  • You can retire servers in remote offices with Drive and Team Drive, eliminating the need for on-premise server upgrades and replacements, backup, and support.
  • You can reduce or eliminate NAS, SAN, file servers, and local storage, all of which require local/offsite backup, maintenance, and support.
  • If you have multiple sites, you can replace point-to-point networks, MPLS, and VPNs with direct Internet access service, at considerable savings.
  • You can replace Active Directory with a cloud-based identity manager or SSO solution; you can retire your AD domain controllers.

New Features

  • With G Suite Business, you get new features, like Team Drives and AppMaker, that are not available in G Suite Basic.

If you are interested in how G Suite Business can help you and your team, please let us know.  We have special incentives in place through June 30, 2017.