21 G Suite Features Every Business Owner Needs to Know

Google Workspace (formerly G Suite) is Google’s all-in-one suite of cloud-based productivity, communication, and collaboration tools for businesses. It is available in multiple pricing tiers with increasing storage, security, and enterprise capabilities. Whether you are evaluating Google Workspace for the first time or have used it for years, there are features across every tier that can improve how your team works. Here are 21 features every business owner should know, organized by category.

What Core Productivity Apps Does Google Workspace Include?

Gmail. Gmail is the fastest and most widely used email platform on the web, and it is fully included with Google Workspace. While anyone can use Gmail for free with a personal Google account, Workspace provides the ability to create and manage individual user accounts under your domain, along with higher storage limits. Gmail also integrates with dozens of other Google products and third-party add-ons, so you can work efficiently without leaving your inbox. For a detailed comparison, see our analysis of Outlook vs. Gmail.

Google Drive. Google Drive is your cloud storage hub for documents, photos, and files. The Basic plan provides 30 GB of storage. Business and Enterprise plans offer unlimited cloud storage with 5 or more users, or 1 TB per user with fewer than 5 users. Drive serves as both an organizational tool and a collaboration platform — team members can share files, set permissions, and access documents from any device.

Google Docs. Google’s cloud-based word processor functions as an alternative to Microsoft Word. You can create, share, and collaborate on documents in real time, import and export various file types, and control who can access each document. Docs is available on every device through a web browser.

Google Sheets. Google’s cloud-based spreadsheet application functions as an alternative to Microsoft Excel. You can create, manage, and share spreadsheets with straightforward user permissions and file-type controls. Like Docs, Sheets supports real-time collaboration and is accessible from any device with a browser.

Google Slides. Google’s cloud-based presentation application functions as an alternative to Microsoft PowerPoint. You can create, manage, and share slideshow presentations with the same real-time collaboration and permission controls available across all Workspace apps.

Google Forms. Google Forms allows you to create surveys, quizzes, and data collection forms. Responses can integrate directly into Google Sheets for analysis. Forms is useful for market research, employee feedback, training assessments, and evaluating employee satisfaction.

What Communication and Collaboration Tools Are Available?

Google Calendar. Google Calendar includes all standard scheduling features — automatic notifications, recurring events, and shared calendars — plus deep integration with Gmail and other Workspace apps. You can automatically convert email messages into calendar events, share availability with teammates, and manage multiple calendars across your organization.

Google Meet and Google Chat (formerly Hangouts). Google’s communication tools cover messaging, group chats, phone calls, and video conferencing. Google Meet handles video meetings, while Google Chat manages text-based messaging and group conversations. Both are reliable for remote and distributed teams, easy to learn, and integrated with Calendar and Gmail for seamless scheduling.

Google Currents. Google Currents is designed for internal enterprise communication. Team members can create custom content streams, form sub-communities, and post and comment within your organization. It comes with strict privacy controls since it is intended for internal use rather than public social networking.

Google Keep. Google Keep is a note-taking and task management app that integrates with other Workspace tools. A Google Keep plugin for Gmail allows you to convert emails into to-do list items and notes. Keep is useful for organizing ideas, tracking tasks, and ensuring nothing falls through the cracks.

Jamboard. Jamboard is a digital whiteboard for brainstorming sessions and collaborative meetings. Multiple participants can contribute simultaneously from their own devices — creating graphics, typing, drawing, and modifying each other’s contributions in real time. Jamboard is especially valuable for creative planning and visual problem-solving sessions.

What Security, Administration, and Support Features Does Google Workspace Provide?

Alert center. The Google Workspace alert center provides a centralized view of notifications about your domain. It is useful for identifying security threats, resolving issues proactively, and monitoring operations. Most alerts also generate an email to your administrator account, but the alert center consolidates everything in one place.

Security and privacy. Google maintains strict security and privacy measures for Workspace data. From its FAQ page, Google states that it does not collect, scan, or use Workspace data for advertising purposes, does not display ads in Workspace core services, and does not own or sell the data that organizations put into Workspace. These protections apply across all plan tiers.

Admin-level user controls. Administrators can manage all user accounts centrally — resetting passwords, locking accounts, controlling document and file permissions, and managing who can access sensitive information. For businesses of any scale, centralized user management is an essential security and operational feature.

Google Vault. Google Vault provides archiving, electronic discovery, and compliance capabilities. It helps businesses reduce litigation costs, retain and search organizational data, and streamline regulatory investigations. Vault may not be relevant for every business, but for organizations with compliance or legal discovery requirements, it is a critical tool.

24/7 customer support. All Google Workspace plans include 24/7 customer support. Google’s support team can assist with product setup, user management, troubleshooting, and any technical issues across the Workspace platform.

What Enterprise-Level Features Does Google Workspace Offer?

Universal Cloud Search (Business and Enterprise). Business and Enterprise plans include cross-app Cloud Search — a central search function that scours all accounts and files you have access to and returns universal results. If you lose track of a document or cannot remember where a presentation is stored, Cloud Search finds it across Gmail, Drive, Docs, and other Workspace apps simultaneously.

Low-code development environment (Business and Enterprise). Business and Enterprise plans provide access to a low-code development environment for building custom apps. It includes templates, drag-and-drop editors, and declarative data modeling that allow developers to create internal tools that bridge gaps between existing Workspace products.

Data loss prevention (Enterprise only). Enterprise plans include data loss prevention (DLP) controls for Gmail and Drive. Administrators can set parameters to detect the transfer of sensitive data — such as credit card numbers or personally identifiable information — and prevent it from being sent. DLP controls provide an automated security layer that reduces the risk of accidental data exposure.

User activity tracking (Business and Enterprise). Business and Enterprise plans enable user activity tracking through endpoint management. Administrators receive automatic notifications of suspicious activity and can review a history of user searches, exports, message views, and other actions across the Workspace platform.

How Do Third-Party Apps and Integrations Extend Google Workspace?

One of the strongest features of Google Workspace is its openness to third-party apps and integrations. Most Workspace products support optional plugins that add functionality or streamline existing workflows. You can browse these in the Google Workspace Marketplace, where some are free and others require a subscription.

Many third-party platforms also offer direct integration with Gmail and other Workspace products. For example, EmailAnalytics integrates with Gmail to analyze and visualize your email activity, providing insights into response times, email volume, and team communication patterns. These integrations allow you to build a customized productivity stack on top of Workspace’s core platform.

For a broader look at the ecosystem, see our guides on Google Workspace tools and 51 Google Workspace tips and tricks. And for a head-to-head platform comparison, see our analysis of Google Workspace vs. Microsoft 365.