A day in the life with Google Apps

Let’s see what a morning is like with Google Apps. In this barely fictitious story, we will see how Google Apps strengthen collaborative work. And due to its model of Software as a Service, the employees always have the latest versions of the tools and of course the information, wherever they are and in any device.

Let’s begin by focussing the subject on an important matter: Google Apps is synonymous with collaboration. Therefore, the best scenario with which to understand the value of this set of business tools is precisely that: teamwork. On the other hand, we are multi-devise and mobile workers: PC, laptop, tablet and mobile phone.  And keeping all these elements synchronised, when you experience it, is something magical and essential.

In short… let’s continue with the scenario of collaboration and one day we accompany our protagonist, Emily, who is the personal secretary of Helen, a senior executive of the sales department of an important printing firm.

A productive morning with Google Apps

08:00 Breakfast (still at home). Although she has not reached the office, Helen already sends her an email (he knows that Emily can see it in her mobile phone) and she tells her that as soon as she arrives at the office to start reviewing a document on which she has been working from his home. It is the new list of digital printing services. She used Gmail for the email, and Google Sites to store the list in a shared site.

09:00 The day begins. Emily turns on her computer, consults the boss’ calendar (Google Calendar), as this is what she has shared previously with her. She trusts his secretary and besides access, she has given her editing permissions so that she can adjust it if necessary. And upon arriving, she sees another email in which Helen asks her to call a meeting at 10:00 with the entire sales team. She sends a meeting announcement by email to the entire department thanks to Google Groups and to its personalised distribution lists and collaborator’s inboxes, also reserving the meeting room where it will be held, because on the way and from the same Gmail screen she verifies that this resource is available at that time. She is aware that some will be out of the office, but they can be “present” in an off-site manner as well, by telephone or videoconference. They will use Hangouts.

Emily has plenty of time to review the document that Helen indicated to her in the email, accessing Google Sites. And all of this without continually entering passwords. The one that she entered at the start of the day serves for everything. She edits with the collaborative word processor Google Docs, and reviews the structure and aesthetics of the document, leaving it all perfect.

10:00 Sales meeting. Helen arrives just in time and enters the room with only his iPad, and with it, everything that is necessary to work. There are salesmen present and absent, and the latter will be connected through Hangouts. In fact, nearly all the participants bring their laptops or tablets, irrespective of the format. The Google Apps are available in all the platforms. The use of the videoconference service is really convenient… On the screen one sees the large-sized image of the person who is speaking and a small image of all the other participants. Curiously, the service detects who is speaking and places her in the close-up view. Those who are absent participate as if they were in the room. Both the sound and the image result in the work flowing smoothly.

During the meeting, the image of Hangouts alternates with the document shared in the Google Docs editor. In fact, you can make modifications in any site, and all are going to see in real time how the document changes and who is the author of each intervention.

They discuss, ask the questions through Hangouts chats, and consult any type of information, spreadsheets, previous sales presentations…. They are found rapidly because the Gmail search engine combines all the information at once: email, documents and sites. A cross-sectional vision that works brilliantly for any business.

The meeting ends and the list of services, the document subject of the debate, is ready and updated in a single file. Behind remain the V1, V2, V3… as would occur when the file had to be sent continually from one site to another, version after version. In our case, the versions are within the document’s history, managed by Google Drive. And everything is kept, as well as the e-mails and even the eliminated documents thanks to Google Apps Vault, the perfect complement for filing and retention.

The list of services can now be published for all the customers, and only for them, because it was indicated that its content was only visible in the usual search engines.

12:00 Sales visit. It is not Emily precisely… It is one of the salesmen. She carries with him his laptop, and knows that the customer that he is going to visit is “old-school”, and is in an old building, with thick walls, and very bad coverage. In short… she knows that there is no problem, because she does not need to be connected to the office to work. She has the updated price list along with the rest of his documents in his own laptop in order to work off-line, thanks to Google Drive, which was in charge of synchronising everything before turning it off in the morning’s meeting.

The morning ends, and all has worked fantastically. Emily and the entire team also trust that they will always have the backing of their provider, Intelligence Partner, which, in its day was assigned to personalise and guide the use of these tools and of the training of the entire team, and it collaborates in the administration tasks of the services and perfectly complements the 24×7 business support that Google offers.

From Intelligence Partner, as premier Partner of Google in Spain, we can help you get the maximum from Google Apps. Get to know our services of consultation, implementation, administration and training in Google Apps tools.

More ideas for working with Google Apps

• Translator with just a click
• Create forms (they are included in a Google spreadsheet)
• Google Finance, one of the stock exchange quotation services
• Edit from mobility (dictate)
• Personal calendars and shared calendars (which take into account the time zones upon convening)
• Administration control panel: groups, subdomains. 24×7 support, with access levels.

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