Google Workspace Changes

Private Android apps can now be published to up to 20 organizations.

Businesses using Google Mobile Management and other Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) providers can now publish a single private Android app to up to 20 different organizations. This update allows developers to publish apps to domains other than their own, removes the requirement for developers to be admins of the target organizations, and simplifies the delegation of app publishing to third-party developers. Security is maintained as developers must have the target organization's Organization ID and an admin must approve the app.

Gmail contextual gadgets will be shut down on August 1st, 2018.

Google is planning to shut down all Gmail contextual gadgets on August 1st, 2018. These gadgets are triggered by clues in Gmail, such as the content of a subject line or an email message. Google recommends that administrators turn off their contextual gadgets and transition to Gmail Add-ons, which offer a better developer experience, cross-platform support, and increased stability.

International language support for Google Drive integration with Slack

Google is launching international language support for the Google Drive integration with Slack. The Google Drive bot will now send messages and respond to users in French, Spanish, German, or Japanese, depending on the user's preferred language setting in Slack.

View Slack activity events within Google Drive

Google Drive is adding activity events that allow users to see when a file is shared or discussed within Slack. Specifically, the activity logs will now record when someone shares a Google Drive file in Slack or comments on a shared Google Drive file within Slack, provided the user has access to both the document and the Slack channel.

Basic Mobile Management is now available for Android devices.

G Suite admins can now mandate basic security measures on Android devices, such as enforcing screen locks, wiping corporate accounts, and managing device inventory, without requiring employees to install the Google Apps Device Policy app. This allows users to access corporate accounts without risking the deletion of personal data.

Twenty-two third-party applications added to the G Suite pre-integrated SAML apps catalog

We’re now adding SAML integration for 22 additional applications: 7geese, Accellion, Bime, Bugsnag, Canvas LMS, Honey, Humanity, Jitbit, Kintone, Knowbe4, Kudos, Looker, Meraki, Mingle, RemedyForce, Replicon, Rollbar, Signal FX, StatusPage, Weekdone, Wrike, and Zoho CRM.

Publish Google Sites to a specific audience.

Google Sites now allows users to specify exactly who can view their content when published. By selecting the 'Share with others' icon and changing the Published settings to 'Specific people can view when published,' editors can invite specific individuals to view the published site.

With Single-Sign-On (SSO), users can access all of their enterprise cloud applications—including the Admin console for admins—after signing in just one time.

We’re now adding SAML integration for 22 additional applications.

Twenty-two third-party applications added to the G Suite pre-integrated SAML apps catalog

Google has expanded its pre-integrated SAML apps catalog by adding 22 new third-party applications, including Looker, Wrike, and Zoho CRM. This update allows administrators to more easily set up Single-Sign-On (SSO) for these enterprise cloud applications, providing a simpler installation process than custom SAML configurations for all G Suite editions and Cloud Identity customers.

Jamboard is now a core G Suite service.

The Jamboard service has transitioned to a core G Suite service, meaning it is now covered under existing G Suite agreements with the same technical support and service level commitments as other core services. It has been moved from the Additional Google Services list to the core G Suite services list in the Admin console and is launching as default ON, while respecting existing settings for opting into new services.

Improved attachment compliance in Gmail DLP by scanning file contents for custom file types.

Google has enhanced Gmail Data Loss Prevention (DLP) capabilities regarding attachment compliance. Previously, custom file type searches only scanned the message's MIME header for filename extensions, which could be bypassed by renaming the file. Now, administrators can enable a feature to scan the actual contents of the attachment to determine its file type for supported types, providing better protection against data loss.

Updated setup flow for company-owned Android devices to improve ownership assignment.

Starting February 12th, 2018, the setup flow for company-owned Android devices (running Android 6.0+) will be updated to encourage correct ownership assignment. Instead of requiring users to check a box to assign ownership to their organization, users will be asked if they own the device personally. Unless they explicitly state personal ownership, the device will be auto-assigned to the organization, provided the G Suite account is added before any personal account.

Hangouts Meet now supported on Android and iOS tablets.

Hangouts Meet is now available for use on Android and iOS tablets, enabling team members to join video meetings from a wider variety of devices.

Hangouts Meet metrics added to G Suite Reports API.

Google is introducing over 50 new metrics to the Reports API Customer Usage report for Hangouts Meet, providing details on call duration, size, and device-specific characteristics. Additionally, Hangouts-related metrics previously provided under the Google+ metrics group have been migrated to a new 'Meet' metrics group.

Pop-up notifications for Drive for Mac/PC users to transition to Drive File Stream starting January 30

Starting January 30, 2018, G Suite accounts still using the legacy Drive for Mac/PC client will begin seeing pop-up notifications providing instructions on how to install Drive File Stream, provided the domain allows the service and displays download links in the Drive interface.